By ELENA MARSH
Insider Staff Writer
With summer not far off, Foxfire Village residents are expecting a third year of closure for their community pool.
While the issue has been disappointing for residents, there are now questions from at least one Village Council member regarding money spent for undone repairs and why the pool has yet to be fixed.
At the Village Council’s February work session, newly elected board member Kevin Robbins presented an account of his experience and understanding of why the pool has been closed since November 2024. Robbins said the village has paid nearly $250,000 for work on the pool since that time.
“The pool is not open; the deck is not replaced; significant structural deficiencies exist; and no meaningful progress has occurred since last spring,” he said in a statement.
In 2024, Foxfire had a webpage on the municipality’s site that displayed the message, “Due to time constraints and the number of necessary repairs needed, the Foxfire Pool will not be open this summer. The village will assess the pool’s current condition and potential lifespan over the upcoming year and make subsequent decisions based on the outcome. Thank you.” That webpage is no longer on the website.
A new statement from the Village Council, posted March 6, reads: “The Foxfire Village Council is united in pursuit of its goal to complete the stalled repairs of the Village Pool, which has been of considerable concern to the council and many village residents. We are reviewing the process that has been followed thus far in managing this project and simultaneously exploring all available options to get the project completed.
“The Village Council intends to work with outside consultants for an independent review and assistance on how we can do a better job in the future and avoid mistakes of the past when engaging in significant capital projects. We know that the slow progress on the pool repair project has been frustrating for our residents. We are focused on resolving the issues that have caused delays and determine the best path forward.”
The end of the letter states that the council is committed to providing additional updates going forward.
In a phone interview, Mayor Janice Gregorich said that the council will continue to work as one body to pursue the statement’s goals.
Robbins, in his February statement, said he sought independent contractor feedback on the project, which suggested that the renovation needed on the pool “could likely have been completed in four to six months and potentially in the $100,000 to $120,000 range.”
“Instead, nearly $250,000 has been spent, and the facility remains unusable,” Robbins said.
Foxfire is one of two municipalities in the county with a community pool. Southern Pines operates the other one, at J. Pleasant Hines Memorial Park.
At the council’s Tuesday meeting, Robbins presented the board with some follow-up work he had pursued since February.
“ I don’t want this to be a black and white,” said Robbins. “It should be a ‘yes, pool’ if it actually makes sense from a fiscally responsible lens, and from use and benefit. It’s an investment. I want to present to everybody here to make a decision on at least four or five different courses of action based on the cost, the benefit and the use.”
The Foxfire community pool, according to research by Robbins, costs $50,000 to $60,000 a year.
“ Comparatively, the playground costs $60,000 and so that’s a playground every year,” he said. “That’s two police cars every year. That’s a fire department, one-year contract every five years. That’s a well site every four years. So again, is the pool something that we can absorb?”
Based on public comments at the end of the meeting, residents who spoke were largely still in favor of the community pool and told the board they would like to see further polls of the community before moving forward.
Contact Elena Marsh at (910) 693-2484 or elena@thepilot.com.
