MANSFIELD – Since the 1960’s, the Shelly Acres swimming pool has been a staple in the Madison community. Today it’s the only existing private pool in the Madison area.
Unfortunately, the effects of COVID-19 linger, and the pool is now at risk of shutting down without the help of the community.
“A lot of people decided not to join last year because of the unknowns of COVID and the effects,” said Meg Mergel, a board member for the Shelly Acres pool. “So that is why, financially, this summer we are struggling.”
Mergel has been an avid swimmer since she was 5 years old. She was a part of the Woodland Club in Mansfield before moving to the Madison area. Four years ago, she became a member of the Shelly Acres pool, and last year she became a board member.
Growing up in the Mansfield area, Mergel can name five pools that she could go to that have since been shut down. She and other board members want to continue to keep the Shelly Acres pool open for more generations to come.
The Shelly Acres Swim team dissolved last year due to low participation. Without it, the Madison Community will lose its swim league.
With fun activities at a premium for kids and teens to do in the Richland County area, Mergel does not want to see the Shelly Acres pool close.
“There’s really not a lot of opportunities in Richland County in the summer to begin with, especially in the Madison community,” Mergel said. “So, to lose that … you’re losing the countless hours of fun, and the opportunity to build relationships and meet friends.”
Mergel sees the Shelly Acres pool as a safe place for kids to have fun and stay out of trouble. She does not want to imagine what the Madison community would look like without that positive outlet. She recently created a GoFundMe fundraiser with a $5,000 goal for the pool.
“People don’t really realize how much upkeep, indoor and outdoor pools are,” Mergel said. “A lot of the time you’re going to run into financial situations where you have to pay for just basic operational cost, pool repairs … And then just upkeep of making sure you have appropriate chairs and they’re not broken.
“It’s little things like that that people really don’t think about when it comes to pools.”
Frank Konczak, another board member for the Shelly Acres Swim Club, has been around since the pool’s inception. He remembers all the games he would play with his friends and hanging out there in the summer. He still holds the 100-yard freestyle record at the pool.
“The reason I’m on the board is because I do not want to see (the pool) close,” Konczak said.
Konczak manages the pump house and takes care of the chlorine and other chemicals used for the pool. While the $5,000 goal on GoFundMe is a great starting point, he hopes that they can raise even higher.
While each season expenses will differ, lifeguards for the season cost $8,000, and chemical and chlorine for the pool costs anywhere between $4,000 to $5,000. On top of that there’s insurance, taxes, electricity and utilities.
As Memorial Day nears and the Shelly Acres Pool approaches opening for the summer, Konzack and Mergel are hopeful memberships will climb along with their fundraising efforts. The Shelly Acres board has also toyed with ideas to get more families at the pool this season such as movie nights and the annual Fourth of July celebration coming back this year.
“It would be great to see ($15,000 raised), that would help out,” Konzack said. “Memorial Day’s our big day — that’s where we usually open. And if it’s nice, hot (and) sunny, we get a lot of memberships.”
“It is really important for our community to be able to utilize the pool,” Mergel said. “When you are financially struggling, it’s difficult to be able to do that, so that’s why we’re really just trying to get the word out.”
