Residents urge Metuchen to keep municipal pool public as council rebuffs privatization rumors

Dozens of residents and pool officials told the Metuchen Borough Council on July 20 that the Matuchen Municipal Pool is a vital public amenity and urged the borough not to privatize or disengage from its operation. The comments came during the meeting’s public-comment period and prompted multiple council responses.

"This community gathering space is vital to Metuchen," said Rihanna Anderson, who identified herself as a 20-year resident and pool member, describing the pool as a place where children learn to swim and seniors gather. Anderson asked the council and Mayor Jonathan Bush to confirm whether privatization was being considered; council members answered directly at the meeting that it was not.

Pool stakeholders and users gave specific examples of why they feared a shift away from public operation. Aaron Casey said limited advertising, a shortened request-for-proposal process for the snack bar and a perception that an interested vendor was denied access raised concern among members. "If people become dissatisfied with their experience, this may cause them not to rejoin the following year, thereby decreasing necessary revenue to the pool," Casey said.

Hannah Davis, the pool’s aquatic director, outlined the programmatic consequences: she said the Matuchen swim-and-dive team has 102 members, celebrated a league championship and depends on the pool for affordable lessons and summer employment. "Privatizing the pool will make this athletic experience completely unattainable for some swimmers and divers," Davis said.

Dan Hirsh, chair of the pool commission, directly dismissed rumors of a privatization plan, saying the only discussion he recalled dated to 2021 and did not move forward. "There isn't. There was one discussion held by one meeting held at one time four years ago…it was rejected at the time," Hirsh said, adding he uses the pool several times a week and supports keeping it public.

Council Member Kandell described recent capital investments — a roof replacement and bathroom renovations among them — and outlined efforts to boost revenue and vendor interest, including reissuing concession RFPs and piloting a no-cost kids camp to build future revenue opportunities. He said the borough has legal limits on proactively soliciting vendors during an RFP process but is exploring other options such as vending machines under the pavilion.

The council encouraged residents to participate in the pool commission (meetings occur monthly) and said it would follow up on specific procurement questions and whether any prospective vendors had been denied access. The council did not take any formal vote on governance of the pool at the meeting.

The council’s next steps on pool management include continued discussion with the pool commission, evaluating the RFP timeline and exploring alternative concession models; residents asked for a clear, long-term plan to ensure the pool’s financial viability.

The council moved on to other agenda items after public comment; no formal action was taken to privatize or change the borough’s ownership or operation model of the pool.