Standerton community works on pool, only for it to regress, thousands wasted
Residents who helped fund and renovate the Standerton Swimming Pool in 2010 are dismayed that their hard work and thousands of rands have gone to waste.
The Standerton Swimming Pool has been vacant for years, attracting vagrants and known criminals to live in the once-vibrant building.
Resident Sonja Lombard is saddened by the state of the pool and the surrounding facilities.
According to Lombard, the community and municipality were united in 2010 to renovate and reopen the pool, and it was open to the public until April 2011.
Lombard sent a letter to the municipality on August 29, 2011, to enquire about the state of the swimming pool, but never got a reply.
According to Lombard’s letter, the estimated expenses paid by the municipality to renovate the swimming pool were R 137 000. The community donated R36 500 toward the renovation.
“The community assisted with cleaning and maintaining the pool throughout 2010/2011 without compensation,” stated Lombard in her letter, showing the willingness of the community to contribute to such projects.
She also explained that the entry fees to the swimming pools were insufficient to cover the costs of maintaining the pools. The financial department told Lombard there was no money to repair a broken pump on the premises.
“Although the municipality authorised the repair of the pump, the money still had to come out of my pocket,” said Lombard.
This made her question how much money the municipality set aside for recreational areas such as the Riverpark and the swimming pool.
As Lombard stated in her letter, it seems that the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.
“It would be a pity to see such a source of pleasure for old and young go to waste by not getting the pool up to standard again,” stated Lombard in 2011, not knowing that 14 years later, that would be the case.
When Lombard began the project, she did not know she would be spending so much money out of pocket to renovate the swimming pool.
She was under the impression that this would be a joint effort where the municipality and community could work together to protect a valuable resource in Standerton.
“I was so sad to see the Standerton Advertiser’s front page on August 1,” said Lombard after the initial reporting of the pool’s current state.
She said the community put in so much hard work and effort into the renovations, only for it to regress.
“The children enjoyed it so much, and it breaks my heart to see that effort go to waste due to no maintenance,” concluded Lombard.
She shared photos of the pool’s glory days, adding to the harsh reality that Standerton is no longer the pearl of the Highveld.
