Given that EIGHT pools were open last summer, going from eight to zero pools was a shock to members of the Save Our Poolz coalition and concerned Worcester residents. Activists said it felt like "excuse after excuse" was being used to keep the pools closed. One activist, after Tuesday night's City Council meeting, said, "Why don't they just throw in "pedophiles" while they're at it?"

Three months ago, as part of his budget presentation, the City Manager claimed that he wanted to have "an honest conversation" about the pools in Worcester.

At last Tuesday's City Council meeting, Save Our Poolz members listened to Mr. Moylan say that the pools are not open this summer because "there was never a plan to open the pools."

If the City Manager wanted to have an "honest conversation," he could have told the people of Worcester three months ago that he never had any intention to open the pools this summer.

Now, he plans to fundraise $200,000, money that could be spent on opening 3 to 4 neighborhood swimming pools, according to calculations using his own figures, on a program that would bus young people from various parts of the city to public beaches and private swimming pools owned by non-profits.

As part of Tuesday's City Council meeting, it came out that a program that transported young people from Lakeside Apartments to Hillside Beach was cut from the budget this year after not working very well.

June 15th, 6pm at City Hall is the final wrap up meeting for the six public hearings, where over 500 residents turned out to express how important the pools are as outdoor community centers in our neighborhoods.

Save Our Poolz is calling for Worcester residents to mobilize for the June 15th wrap up hearing, voice your outrage at the pools being closed this summer, and insist that creating nine new city pools needs to be a guaranteed high priority for the city administration.

The attached reports are from Mr. Moylan and the City Manager.