BERKELEY – Right now, it’s difficult for area swimmers to find a full-sized pool unless they live in Toms River or farther south in Ocean County.
But that may change, if a proposed pool to be built near the Central Regional school district and Veterans Park becomes a reality.
The $2 million pool will be built at no cost to taxpayers, by a medical investment group, Central Regional Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said after the Jan. 3 Board of Education reorganization meeting.
The pool would be located on the Craig Estate property between Veterans Park and Central Regional, he said.
The investment group will own the pool. Central Regional, including the swim team, will be given pool time. Students in all of the district’s fourth grade sending schools would also be given swimming lessons, Parlapanides said.
Senior citizens who want to join the pool will be billed $10 a month. Everyone else will pay $15 a month. Anyone who just wants to swim for a day will pay $4, he said.
“To be safe, we are looking for a fall 2020 date for the opening of the pool,” Parlapanides said.
The investment group will pay taxes to the township and a percentage of the net profits during the course of the 20-year agreement.
“It’s more of an agreement between the investment group and the Berkeley Township mayor and council,” he said. “I’m just working with Mayor (Carmen) Amato and the council to help get the project completed…we all agree it would be great for the community and the schools.”
Plans for a previous fitness and wellness center to be built by a different investment group a few years back were determined not to be feasible. That center would have included an Olympic-size swimming pool, gym facilities, cardiac rehab, physical therapy, fitness classes, personalized health assessments, wellness programs, a restaurant, and a daycare center.
The new project would only include a six-lane swimming pool and locker rooms, Parlapanides said.
In other business, the board voted unanimously to reappoint board member Louis Tuminaro to serve as board president this year and board member Denise Pavone-Wilson to serve as board vice-president.
