VILLAS – Lower Township Council voted unanimously to put the no-tax-burden revised aquatic center on the ballot at its Aug. 5 meeting.
The plan for the center, to be built on the Breakwater Road side of the Cape May County Airport, was originally proposed in May 2018 at a cost of over $14 million. There was some backlash at that price, so township officials went back to the drawing board and will offer a scaled-down version at $10.5 million, $2.5 million of which will come from the Cape May County Open Space Review Board.
Lower Township Manager James Ridgway explained the changes which would eliminate the proposed water slides and some meeting space.
“While the slides and some meeting spaces have been eliminated, the eight-lane pool, therapy pool and lazy river will remain,” Ridgway said.
The $8.5 million pool construction would not raise taxes to Lower Township property owners, according to Ridgway.
The proposed center would include a competition pool for youth sports and adult lap swimming, plus a separate “lifestyle” pool for adult and senior aqua therapy, including resistance walking and other therapeutic activities.
The competition would allow for school swim meets and possibly state swimming events.
“We didn’t want to build a ‘no-frills’ aquatic center, we want it to be nice for the residents and other users,” said Lower Township Mayor Erik Simonsen.
Ridgway said he expects some professional use of the facilities could help offset a portion of the operating cost of the center.
