DUNDALK, Md — Baltimore County held a listening session at Dundalk Elementary School, where residents packed the cafeteria to share questions, comments, and concerns about the county taking over the Dundalk Swim Center.
Dundalk community share opinions as county prepares to take over swim center from YMCA
The YMCA is ending its contract to operate swim centers in Dundalk and Randallstown at the end of August. The county will then take over but won't be operational until later in September.
"Right now we want to make sure we provide about 35 or so hours at each site that kinda match what the community is looking for," Bryan Sheppard of Baltimore County Rec and Parks said.
Baltimore County Recreation and Parks heard from the community that residents want lap swimming, open swim, and continued access for the local swim team.
"This is something not only fun and engaging for the kids to do, but it's essential; it's a life skill. These kids need to be taught water safety; they need to be comfortable and confident in the water," said Catherine Almodoval, the head swim coach of the ESP Stingrays.
Residents also raised broader questions about the future of programming at the facility.
"Are there ways to kind of partner and be able to expand the types of things the county might support?" one attendee said.
"My thing is as long as I got Saturday classes, I'm good," another resident said.
"And we hope that it can be a lot like the Y," another attendee said.
The community has been asked to submit comments to the county through a survey; here is the link.
This story was reported on air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI.
Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
