NMT, city involve public in pool future

A town hall addressing solutions to the permanent closure of New Mexico Tech’s pool is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the Macey Center, followed by a City of Socorro public hearing in March.

At the city meeting on Tuesday with representatives from NMT, Deliah Walsh and David Greene present, Bhasker said the preliminary discussion was the city would lease the pool to NMT for $1 per year while continuing to contribute roughly the $170k it currently spends on pool operations. In return, Tech would maintain and staff the pool, install a cover and provide a year‑round facility accessible to both Tech and the broader Socorro community.

Bhasker said the city has put $250k over the last five years to redo the pool. He is asking that children swim for free in the summer, while adults would pay Tech’s standard $5 day pass.

Walsh said the NMT pool and bubble structure are no longer viable and would require millions and at least a two-year shutdown to fix. She said they see this partnership as the best way to keep pool services available while they pursue a longer‑term Wellness Center project.

After the NMT Pool's shutdown in March, there will likely be a transition period, said Walsh. The city pool normally opens in early June for about nine weeks of free swim. Bhasker suggested opening earlier in May as it warms up.

Walsh said Tech is still working on financial models to determine the feasibility and they are also reaching out to the county and schools for additional support. Bhasker said a public hearing would be scheduled for March 17 and the city council would have to approve a memorandum of understanding before moving forward.

On Jan. 30 in an email sent to the NMT community, Greene said the closure was due to significant infrastructure challenges and prohibitive repair costs exceeding $3 million.

In response to the closure a petition letter titled “Save the Pool” collected more than 230 signatures.

“With this letter we, the undersigned, ask again how we can help. Among us there are many excellent engineers, grant writers, contractors, managers and advocates for the community. We can help,” the letter stated. “We are deeply invested in this facility and in finding realistic, responsible paths forward.”

Zelika Stone, pool user, said the letter was sent to all vice presidents and the president of NMT on Feb. 4.

“I got a brief response on the same day from the president, Michael Jackson, thanking me for passing on the letter and saying that they will have a discussion with the community after they have some additional information,” Stone said. “He also said that will probably be after the legislative session.”