Johnson City community calls on commission for better Freedom Hall pool plans

Johnson City residents and members of surrounding communities are calling on city leaders to reconsider the decision to close Freedom Hall Pool. In response to the city's decision to permanently close the 52-year-old pool on April 3, more than 2,000 local residents have signed a petition that asks officials to delay the closure. While the city has extended operating hours of the Memorial Park Community Center pool, parents and members of the local swimming community have said they want to see a better plan. The petition was started by Felicia Losh, a history teacher at Liberty Bell Middle School. Her daughter swims at Freedom Hall Pool five days a week and she's a member of the Johnson City Middle School swim team and Barracuda Swim Club. "As a parent it's really hard to see your child learn the news that the sport that she loves and has great passion for might not be able to continue if they can't find adequate space," Losh said. "To see that be in jeopardy is heartbreaking." Losh said she understands why the pool needs to be closed but created the petition because she's not satisfied with the city's solution. This solution was to expand the Memorial pool's hours to include Sundays, meaning the facility would have to take on at least three local competitive teams. Losh said she feels this isn't practical. "It's just not a reasonable space to replace that, I guess, especially at the level that the Science Hill and Johnson City Middle School and Barracuda clubs compete," Losh said. "I'm not trying to save the Freedom Hall pool. I'm trying to get the word out that the aquatics community needs support. Um, and whether that be allowing us to use a different pool or the city commissioners reaching out and using their contacts to use the ETSU pool or just other places in our area." One of the signers of Losh's petition is Johnson City resident Samantha Davis. As someone who grew up swimming competitively in Freedom Hall and has two young children she hoped might follow, Davis said she's frustrated with the city's decision. "I think a pool is something that a lot of people don't think about, but a lot of communities have as a staple," Davis said. "And I think that you're seeing sort of this outcry and need for it now that the only option that we have is being taken away." Several community members, including Davis and Losh, have said Freedom Hall Pool has been in poor condition for years, long before the city announced its closure in late February. Davis said she remembers talks of the aging facility over 15 years ago, when she was swimming for Science Hill High School. "I think the larger frustration is that this is not new information. Our region has known that Legion Street Pool and Freedom Hall Pool are reaching the end of their life," Davis said. "It's become clear that they have no backup plan," Davis said. "They currently have no legitimate plan to fund an aquatic center or a replacement. They're going to try to relocate the teams into existing facilities, which is not going to work. It's not sustainable because none of the pools that they have access to are competition size or regulation." During the city commission meeting Thursday, City Manager Cathy Ball said she and her staff would support the commission in whatever decision it makes about the future of the pool. She also said there are photos of the pool's underbelly she could make available. Thursday night, the Johnson City Press requested the photos Ball mentioned and did not receive them by press time. At a city media event Friday, Mayor Greg Cox said city administration began working with Johnson City Schools in August on next steps. "It's not an easy decision, but I think when I was in high school they talked about the pool being in rough shape," Cox said. "It's to the point where staff and administration did not want to put employees in danger anymore and there's no other choice but to shut it down." "We all could say, 'what are the answers? Why wasn't this figured out beforehand?' But this is something that I think the engineers just got in there and made a determination that was a little stronger worded than we planned," Cox said. "We'll have to figure out, as the community, what we want going forwards," Cox said. In early 2025, the city brought in an outside consultant to conduct a study that identified several community and safety needs for its aquatics facilities. Part of the study included an assessment of Freedom Hall Pool, which found "immediate risks" to the pool's safety. "Assessment of the Lower Pool Service Area at Freedom Hall Civic Center in January 2025 revealed significant structural issues, including concrete spalling, exposed and corroded reinforcing steel, and moisture infiltration, all exacerbated by the highly corrosive environment. These problems pose immediate risks to the pool's safety and functionality, requiring urgent remediation to restore structural integrity and prevent further damage," the aquatics study report says. The aquatics feasibility study results were compiled into a report in November 2025. The report, however, was not posted publicly to the city of Johnson City's website until March 2026, according to internet archives. The report also recommends that Johnson City invest in a new aquatics facility to better suit the community's growing competitive needs that Losh and Davis both pointed out. These new facilities are estimated to cost anywhere from $39 to $49 million, according to the report.