Hollander Pool in Newark reopened earlier this month, ending a yearslong quest by the city and Licking County Family YMCA to revive a community staple residents have visited for decades.
The pool, which first opened in the 1930s, had been closed since 2021 until the YMCA reopened it June 10. Hollander is Newark’s only public pool, but frequent maintenance problems and required repairs postponed a reopening.
In early June, the city finished repairing leaks staff and the YMCA discovered after filling the pool in May, paving the way for welcoming residents back. Dozens of people came out to the pool on June 10, including some camps with the YMCA and other residents eager to return.
In a Facebook post, the YMCA wrote that it “couldn’t be more excited to bring this community favorite back to life.”
“It was really just a big collaboration with the city where they were really committed to getting it open, and could fix the major issues and leaks that prevented it from opening in the past,” Licking County Family YMCA Aquatics Director Zach Dobbelaer told The Advocate. “The Y is always willing to open it as long as we can operate it. Both the city and the Y are very committed to trying to provide a safe and fun experience for members and the public at large, whenever possible.”
In 2022, both entities wanted to open the pool, but it was losing too much water — thousands of gallons per day, according to Dobbelaer — because of a leak that also made it difficult to keep the chemicals balanced.
Street construction around the pool in 2024, including water line replacements, stalled the reopening. The city closed the pool for the summer, but it continued diagnosing problems and working to remedy them, particularly during the fall.
“The scale of these problems can be pretty massive,” Dobbelaer said. “When you have an empty pool, it’s obviously really difficult to diagnose the leaks or figure out where they’re coming from. It requires filling the pool, running it, seeing where the leaks are, then potentially draining it, trying to fix those leaks, then refilling it and running it again to see if you fixed it.”
The city completed some of the repairs in fall 2024 but discovered some additional leaks after refilling the pool in May. Licking County students participated in a clean-up project in April with the city and YMCA in anticipation of a reopening.
Though it’s an older pool with the potential for unexpected issues, the YMCA doesn’t expect any big problems to pop up this summer. It closed the pool June 14 because of the weather and a staffing shortage, which Dobbelaer said may happen occasionally.
The pool is open from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Children under age 2 get in free, while entry for kids ages 2 to 12 costs $5. Admission for teens 13 to 17 years old, military personnel, and seniors is $8, and adult entry is $10.
Hollander pool has no diving boards, largely due to safety reasons, but there are a few water slides and a rock wall near the pool’s deeper end, among other amenities.
Damian Walls, a Newark resident, said he and his family have been waiting years since moving to the area to visit the pool. Walls said they drive by the pool frequently and long wondered about a reopening until crews told them the YMCA would do so this month.
Walls went home and told his family, and on June 20 took his stepson, 9-year-old Noah Murphy, for some water fun.
“It’s hot outside, it’s a beautiful Friday and it’s just really nice to have a local swimming pool close by and affordable, and we can go to,” Walls said. “We can hang out and just have a good time.”
Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at jhperez@newarkadvocate.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: YMCA, Newark reopen Hollander pool to bring a community favorite ‘back to life’
Reporting by Josué Perez, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
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