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Residents urge Tupelo council to restore and upgrade C.C. Augustus Center pool
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Summary
Multiple residents and community leaders urged the Tupelo City Council to invest in reopening and modernizing the C.C. Augustus Center pool, citing decades of community use, youth safety, swim education and neighborhood revitalization.
Residents and community leaders pressed the Tupelo City Council to support reopening and upgrading the C.C. Augustus Center pool during the meeting’s public-comment period.
Patty Thompson, speaking for the Southern Heights Neighborhood Association, also asked the council to clarify funding for nearby infrastructure projects and timelines; she said neighborhood minutes list project funding ranging from $3,000,000 to $13,000,000 and asked officials to report whether funds are available and when work might begin. "I will provide the council with a copy of our 02/27/2023 meeting that shows just how far back this goes," Thompson said.
The newly Reverend Doctor Charles Pinscher described the C.C. Augustus Center, built in 1962, as a neighborhood cornerstone and argued a modernized pool would expand swim education, improve supervised recreation and reduce juvenile incidents. "Swimming is an essential life saving skill," Pinscher said, urging the council to preserve and improve the facility.
Mitchell Jenkins, a lifelong Tupelo resident from Ward 4, told the council the pool shaped his summers and social life and asked officials to invest in a rebuilt facility that would attract families and visitors. "So let's do this for our kids, please," Jenkins said.
Mary Jane Meadows, identifying herself with Working Together Mississippi, said the group and other city residents support a new outdoor swimming facility at C.C. Augustus and urged the council to coordinate with community stakeholders so the project benefits the whole city.
The speakers framed the pool as both a public-safety and equity issue: they said swim lessons reduce heat-related risks and drowning, increase physical activity and provide supervised after-school space. Council members listened during the citizen hearing; the comments were delivered under the council’s five-minute public-comment rules. The council did not announce any immediate funding commitments during the meeting.
