Amarillo City Council Reverses Course on Southwest Pool Closure

It was just a couple of weeks ago when we learned the fate of two popular Amarillo pools for the summer and beyond. A vote was held, and they decided that Southwest Pool would be closed permanently.

Southeast Pool would remain closed temporarily as they did a survey of the facility to see if it was worth keeping open. The community voiced their opinions...loudly at times, but it didn't seem anyone could be swayed. Well, it looks like that may have just changed.

Voice Heard At City Council Meeting

Craig Gualtiere decided he wanted to speak up. Prior to the most recent City Council meeting, Gualtiere reached out to Councilman Tim Reid to request the opportunity to present an idea to the council about the closure of the pools.

He had that opportunity yesterday and presented his idea to the City Council on what they can do in order to keep both pools open. The main topic was wrapped around the permanent closure of Southwest Pool, but thanks to Gualtiere, we got some good news.

Southwest Pool Will NOT Permanently Close

Because he spoke up, the City Council listened, and apparently, they liked what they heard. In a unanimous vote, the City Council decided not to PERMANENTLY close Southwest Pool. Sometimes, when you speak up and speak out, you're heard.

The aforementioned Councilman Reid said, “It is a quality of life issue and I did hear enough from the public that said, you know, we really need to take another look at this as council and it doesn’t hurt us any,” and because he heard enough from Gaultiere and the public in general, it prompted a second look.

What This Means For Southwest and Southeast Pool

It's important to stress that just because Southwest Pool won't be permanently closed as of right now, there are still things that need to be done. Both pools will remain temporarily closed for this summer, so while neither will be shut down permanently, there will still be two fewer swimming options this summer.

Both facilities will now undergo the study they were going to do for Southeast Pool and really drill down into them. Is it worth fixing the pools? Will the fixes last and be cost-efficient? Are the pools at end of life? These are all questions that need to be answered, but at least now both pools will receive the same treatment.