PITTSBURGH — A petition circulating on social media, shared by the Greenfield Community Association Facebook page, is asking for signatures to persuade the City of Pittsburgh to reopen Magee Pool.
The pool was closed in 2019 due to an issue with the pool’s pump. It did not reopen in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic.
The petition was started by Greenfield Community Association board member Barb Warwick and the Facebook post is signed by her and the association.
But she and other group officials are now clarifying that she is leading this charge as an individual.
“This is just me,” said Warwick. “Just me and a couple of my mom friends.”
“It’s one of those kind of surveys that most people are going to say, ‘Yes, we want the pool open,’” said Joe Pegher, the vice president of the Greenfield Community Association.
“This is a really important pool for the community,” said Warwick. “It’s also the closest pool to Hazelwood, which doesn’t have a pool.”
The petition asks for peoples’ names, emails, addresses, and phone numbers. But it’s unclear where that information is going.
“I’m not sure who’s compiling those signatures and email addresses,” said Pegher. “I would assume at this point it’s going to Barb and that maybe her plan was to pass those on the GCA at some point.”
Councilman Corey O’Connor tells Channel 11 that the pool is scheduled to reopen this summer, assuming the city can hire enough lifeguards to staff it.
That’s exciting news for Pegher and the Greenfield community.
“The pool, in particular, in the summertime is a real focal point of the community. We’ve really missed it the last few years,” said Pegher.
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a lifeguard at any of the city’s pools, click here: https://pittsburghpa.gov/citiparks/lifeguard-info
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