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Volunteer group outlines pledge drive to support Berlin pool repairs
Summary
Victoria Hill, speaking for a volunteer "friends" group, told the City of Berlin Parks and Recreation Commission the group has reorganized as a 501(c)(3) and is launching a pledge drive with targets of $1.5 million in pledged capital and a $1.0 million endowment to fund ongoing maintenance.
Victoria Hill, who identified herself as the president of the volunteer "friends" group working on the pool effort, told the City of Berlin Parks and Recreation Commission on April 1 that the group has reorganized as a 501(c)(3) to accept donations and is beginning a pledge drive to demonstrate public support for repairing the community pool.
"Objective number 1 is to raise 1,500,000 in pledged capital, and then objective number 2 is another, $1,000,000 in funds that would create an endowment that would produce $40,000 annually to help keep the pool under repair," Hill said. She added that the endowment “does not allocate for ownership or running of the pool” and that the group's role is to provide citizen support and fundraising rather than operate the facility.
Hill said the group recently mailed pledge packets and is reconfirming earlier commitments. She reported roughly $15,000 in immediately usable funds for outreach and said there are about $70,000 in prior pledges that are still “up in the air” because some donors originally pledged on the assumption repairs would happen last year and may need to reconfirm. "We're starting to disseminate them now," she said, adding that no returns had yet been received at the time of her update.
Hill described the group's narrowed scope after an internal restructuring: rather than trying to run or manage the pool, the organization will focus on fundraising and public outreach so it can present concrete numbers to the Berlin Common Council when citizens' financial commitments are known. "So the first thing that we did is we reevaluated our bylaws," she said, noting the nonprofit structure was intended to make it easier to receive and hold donations.
The commission thanked Hill for the update and for the volunteer effort. Hill said the group plans to continue its pledge drive and would come before the Common Council with fundraising totals when it can report reliable figures.
Next steps: the group will continue soliciting pledges, reconfirm earlier commitments, and coordinate with city staff and the Common Council if or when a formal funding request or referendum is pursued.
