Bangor’s Dakin Pool will not open this summer

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Due to ongoing staffing shortages, Dakin Pool in Bangor will not open this summer.

Bangor Parks and Recreation made that decision after meeting with its advisory committee Tuesday night.

Officials told the committee it typically takes between 25 and 30 people to operate both of the city’s pools, Dakin and Beth Pancoe.

With just 22 on staff last summer, they were only able to open Dakin on a limited schedule, with Pancoe open seven days a week.

This year, there are only 18 on staff.

That meant there wasn’t enough people to have both pools open on the same day.

Instead of opening Dakin just one day a week, the committee suggested keeping the better-attended Pancoe location open full-time instead.

“Dakin doesn’t have the numbers. I mean, it’s on that side of town. It’s their pool. It’s, you know, all these positive things of that facility being there. But, you’re not getting the attendance there. And, you are getting the attendance at Pancoe,” said John Parcak, Parks, Recreation and Harbor Advisory Committee.

“It’s not like somebody’s just saying, ‘Oh, we’re closing it without giving any thought.’ I mean, it’s so easy for people to knee jerk and say, That’s not fair. That’s my neighborhood pool or whatever, but it’s not just a Bangor problem, it’s a nationwide problem,” said Leah McBreairty, Parks, Recreation and Harbor Advisory Committee.

Bangor Parks and Rec officials insist this is just a one-year closure.

If staffing levels somehow increase, they will revisit the decision as the summer goes on.

The Beth Pancoe Aquatic Center is set to open on Monday, June 27.

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