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In this 2019 file photo, the Beverly Hills pool sits empty. County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to spend up to $24,620 to fill in the empty Central Ridge pool with concrete.
County Commission Chairwoman Ruthie Schlabach on Tuesday said it broke her heart but she had no choice in making a motion to fill the Central Ridge pool in Beverly Hills with cement and stop trying to pump life into a failed project.
“It’s almost the death of a dream for me,” she told the board and public.
Her colleagues sided with her and the final 5-0 vote apparently puts to bed an issue that has been ongoing for over three years.
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The move didn’t sit well with some.
Resident Janet Barack said the pool was meant for families to enjoy and “not to be filled in with cement.”
Beverly Hills Civic Association president Harvey Gerber pleaded with commissioners to back a plan to salvage the county pool.
He asked the board to sell it to the Nature Coast Affordable Housing Corporation (NCAHC), which would refurbish the pool and build a playground there to be used for free by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Citrus County.
Gerber said he has the cash and a committed company to perform the renovation work.
“We have all the money and then some,” said Gerber,
But Schlabach said she has received no correspondence from the Boys & Girls Clubs and has not seen a detailed plan from the NCAHC.
“This is trying to put life into something where there is no life,” she said.
Schlabach agreed to work with Gerber on another project at the park.
“That pool was not supported by Beverly Hills,” Schlabach said. “The community had it, they couldn’t support it, they couldn’t afford it.”
Added Schlabach: “We need to move on. It is not healthy. It is not serving any purpose for Beverly Hills right now.”
Commissioner Diana Finegan said she would favor tabling the issue pending more details. But ultimately, Finegan said she would support Schlabch’s motion because of the time and energy she put into the matter.
The county will now perforate the pool shell, backfill it and finish it with a concrete pad – all at a cost not to exceed $24,620.
The Beverly Hills Recreation Association once owned the pool, Beverly Park and community center. The county took it over when the association could no longer afford it, creating the Central Ridge Community Park.
In this 2019 file photo, the Beverly Hills pool sits empty. County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to spend up to $24,620 to fill in the empty Central Ridge pool with concrete.
