If you follow local public projects, you may have noticed the national trend of shrinkflation hitting close to home. Recently unveiled designs for Malvern Hills Park pool are a case in point. Asheville once had three public pools — Walton Street, Malvern Hills Park and Recreation Park. Today, after years of deferred capital investment and the destruction of the Rec Park pool by Hurricane Helene, the city has just one: the undersized pool at the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, with a maximum capacity of only 100 swimmers in a city of nearly 100,000 residents.
Meanwhile, private membership pools across Asheville — the YMCA of Western North Carolina, YWCA Asheville, Asheville Jewish Community Center, Asheville Racquet Club, Country Club of Asheville, East Asheville Recreation Club and Odyssey School — remain open and thriving. Every single one has a deep end. Public pools, on the other hand, now have none.
This is not equity. Families who can afford $500-$1,500 memberships have access to safer, more functional pools, while the majority of Asheville residents are left with shallow-water facilities…