Gonzales city pool forced to stay closed

Gonzales is closing the city pool just as summer is about to start. The city said it was forced to close the pool because of safety concerns. Dozens of kids walking by the pool chanted that they wanted it reopen. The pool has been closed since last fall, all the while the city was trying to fix the problem.

City employees said the pool is closed because they can’t see the bottom when people swim in it. They said pool lines in the shallow end but not in the deep end and adding chlorine didn’t work. One report claimed the painting and plaster could be falling off the walls into the water.

Maria Arroyo lives in Gonzales and runs a daycare in the city. Arroyo said her annual “swim and movie days” are over.

“What are we going to do now on Fridays it was fun,” Arroyo said.

Harold Wolgamott works for the city and is the special projects director, he said, “I truly feel sorry for the people, the pool has been very important for me and my family my kids grew up in the pool.”

“I guess we are going to have to find something else to do,” Arroyo said.

That could mean Maria will have to load up the car and drive her kids further south on 101 to Soledad or King City.

Andrea Wasson is the King City recreation coordinator at their city pool.

“I know that had to be a horrible decision for them to have to make. It’s a huge loss for the community because as you can see we have a ton of kids here right now and it’s not even really a sunny day,” Wasson said.

In King City, kids were enjoying the city’s newly renovated water slide on Tuesday and for $2.50 and a little extra gas, Gonzales residents could be doing the same. Gonzales had printed flyers with a list of rec programs residents can participate in over summer and posted them at City Hall and on Facebook. The city council could get an update from a pool expert in July.