“There’s a reason it’s the largest and that’s because it’s a big financial toll to run something that big,” Fagg said. “When we look at it from a dollars point of view, it was hurting our organization to keep it open.”

Following the August incident, the insurance company covered the $180,000 needed for electrical repairs and $10,000 for cleanup and testing the facility for mold, Fagg said.

In January, Fagg said the YWCA was in conversation with several possible partners that would enable them to reopen the Aquatic Center with a possible reopening date of February.

But in the end, nobody was able to commit the money needed to not only fix the pool but sustain it, and the decision became inevitable.

“There’s no point in fixing the pool if we can’t keep it operational,” Fagg said. “It takes a lot of money to heat all that water, for the chemicals and to staff that large an area.”

Work could begin as early as the fall to fill in the pool and begin repurposing it into a fitness space, he said.

They are open to ideas from the community on what the new space could be but hope to use it to explore new ventures.