An $85,000 feasibility study for Brookline's first outdoor public swimming pool is underway, and a handful of residents are already questioning whether the town should be spending on it.

Letters published on Brookline.News on Sunday, July 20, and Thursday, July 24, challenge the project's timing and necessity. They arrive weeks after the town hired Boston firm Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype to evaluate at least four potential pool sites.

"Brookline just passed a $23.5M override, the largest in MA history, with proponents claiming that, without it, essential services would be at risk," resident Shari Gershenfeld wrote in her July 24 letter. "Now there's a push to build an outdoor pool in Brookline?" Gershenfeld pointed to existing options: indoor pools at Brookline High School and a free outdoor pool at Cleveland Circle, just across the town border in Boston. The "largest in MA history" characterization is Gershenfeld's; it could not be independently verified.

Resident Julie Gibson echoed that point in a July 20 letter, writing that Cleveland Circle "is right next to Brookline." Another resident, Alex Loscalzo, suggested repurposing an underused outdoor hockey rink as a pool site, arguing it "never gets cold enough any more to use it."

What the study covers

Town Meeting approved the $85,000 for the study in 2024. The consultant is evaluating two already-identified sites: the Department of Public Works maintenance yard at Larz Anderson Park and a portion of the former Newbury College campus at Fisher Hill West, plus two additional locations the firm will select. The study will produce conceptual designs and estimate construction, operating, and long-term maintenance costs so officials can decide whether to move forward.

Results are expected by the end of 2026. The study alone will not greenlight construction; town officials will use the findings to determine next steps.

The case for a pool

Brookline, population roughly 64,000, has just one public indoor pool, the Evelyn Kirrane Aquatics Center. The National Park and Recreation Association recommends one public pool per 20,000 residents.

The Friends of the Brookline Community Pool, formed in 2024, says Brookline and Peabody are the only two Greater Boston communities with populations over 30,000 that lack a public outdoor pool. The group launched the Brookline Community Outdoor Pool Fund through the Brookline Community Foundation in 2025 with 133 founding donors.

Town Meeting member Alec Lebovitz, a member of the Friends group, said residents have been telling the town for 25 years that outdoor swimming is an unmet need. Resident Alex Neary described the demand for swim lessons as overwhelming: "You have to sign up within the first three minutes, or else you're boxed out."

Resident Evan Klein said his father, who uses a wheelchair, cannot access the Brookline High School pool because the facility predates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What's ahead

Recreation Director Tim Davis said the study was delayed because the pool project competed with other recreation capital improvements for funding and staff attention. No public input session for the feasibility study has been announced.

The feasibility study results, expected by the end of 2026, will be the next milestone in the debate.