Lexington, KY - With the neighborhood pool in limbo and disarray (to put it kindly) back in February and summer swiftly approaching, 12 families in the Cumberland Hill neighborhood banded together to form the Cumberland Hill Swimming Pool Association (CHSPA) LLC,. The ultimate hope was to purchase the pool and recreation center, which also includes a clubhouse, two tennis courts and a basketball court, and return it to its previous luster.
With an initial goal of trying to raise $100,000 from potential charter members to purchase the center, buy new equipment and renovate the pool, the group held community meetings, utilizing the neighborhood's massive e-mail listserv and even going door-to-door to try to raise awareness with other neighbors about CHSPA's undertaking.
Mike Sweeney, one of the founding charter members of CHSPA and a Cumberland Hill neighbor, admits that they did get some doors slammed in their face, but they also saw a lot of enthusiasm, and some checks were even written on the spot.
Aside from preserving a cherished neighborhood social hub - one that gets utilized in all seasons, not just summer - Sweeney says the group was successful in communicating other benefits to potential members.
"This isn't so much about your pool, this is about saving your home values," he said. "Nobody wants to drive into the front of Cumberland Hill and see a big hole in the ground. Who wants to live there? Our neighborhood was one of the few in Fayette County where home values were going up in value, not down, and we wanted to keep it that way. That's how we approached it."
And it worked. Of the initial 250 charter memberships available, only a handful was left by mid-May, and that was before the pool was even remotely in usable condition. Along with replacing all the poolside and athletics accessories (even the basketball goal backboard) and repainting the entire clubhouse, considerable renovation work had to be done to the pool, which the group farmed out to Gibbs Pools in Knoxville, Tenn.
"They do a fantastic job," Sweeney said. "This pool needed a rebuilding from the ground up. There were leaks in the pool; they said they quit counting at 15 leaks. This was a huge, huge undertaking."
While Gibbs Pools was in charge of repairing the swimming areas, CHSPA hired Lexington Pools to handle the particulars of running the pool, such as staffing the lifeguards and maintaining the chemicals for the water. All the other chores, including landscaping, were farmed out to the collection of dedicated neighbors, who held a neighborhood yard sale at the pool the last weekend in May to raise money for more equipment.
"There's a lot of people in the neighborhood who can do all sorts of stuff," Sweeney said. "We've got plumbers, electricians, carpenters who have offered their assistance. I can offer my help, but that's about it. We just want to get it off the ground and see if people can take advantage of it this summer."
The last minute push from so many parties involved paid off. Work on the pool started in late April, and on Memorial Day, the pool was open for members. Despite inclement weather, the facilities were packed.
"When you consider that we started this in mid-February, three months ago, and we've gone this far," Sweeney said. "It's just amazing."
For more information about the Cumberland Hill Neighborhood Association, which includes a membership application for the pool facilities, visit www.cumberlandhill.net.