OCEAN CITY — Swimmers were in their bathing suits late Monday morning, anxiously waiting for the pool to reopen at the Ocean City Aquatic and Fitness Center.
It had been closed for two months to make repairs, re-plaster the interior of the pool, install tiled lane markers on the bottom and replace the decking with a soft rubber surface.
Mary Fondi and Michele George were among the senior swimmers sitting on the bleachers as a horde of officials, including Ocean City Council members, Cape May County commissioners and Assemblyman Antwan McClellan, crowded around Mayor Jay Gillian by the side of the pool shortly before noon. Gillian helped retired doctor Fred Weber cut a big red ribbon to mark its reopening.
“I’m excited,” George said.
“It looks absolutely beautiful and clean and we can’t wait to get wet,” Fondi added. “I drive over the bridge and I walk on your beach and then I come to the pool. Thank you very much!”
“We do 11 o’clock and 12 o’clock water fitness classes,” George said.
“The mayor was in our way during the 11 o’clock class so we had to wait until 12 (today). We didn’t mind,” Fondi said, smiling.
Asked if they considered pushing him in to get things moving, they laughed. “It was discussed, depending on how long (the ceremony) went,” the duo joked.
The mayor did keep his remarks short, thanking the membership “most of all” because they are the ones who were put out by the pool being closed.
Gillian said everyone benefits from the work and he thanked the contractor, Capri Construction of Vineland, for getting the project done on time, staff at the Aquatic and Fitness Center and the city team.
The sign at the bottom of the scoreboard reads: “The Mazzitelli Natatorium.” Gillian said the pool is dedicated to the late Tony Mazzitelli, who suffered from muscular dystrophy and passed away a number of years ago. The pool impacts so many people, he added, including Mazzitelli, who frequented the pool.
Gillian said the city does not do a good enough job educating people on how things are named. He called the Mazzitellis “a great Ocean City family.”
According to the city’s public information officer, the project was initiated because of the failure of the main drainage pipeline beneath the pool, but they did the other work, the mayor said, to maintain the pool “for generations to come.”
The cost of the project was $792,000.
The pool hosts the Ocean City High School varsity swim teams, a youth swim team, the Special Olympics, senior exercise programs, scuba lessons, adult lap swimmers and adult swimmers with spinal cord injuries and disease. Members check in to the facility more than 100,000 times a year, according to the city.
The final work on the project, installing pool amenities, will be done in coming weeks.
Weber, a retired thoracic surgeon who practiced for 50 years, enjoys spending some of his retirement at the Aquatic and Fitness Center.
“I do like the pool very much. I’ve been retired 11 years now and we’re in it every day,” the 78-year-old said. “For the two months I had to swim somewhere else. I had to swim at JCC (Jewish Community Center) and Mainland (Regional High School).” He opted not to try the bay or ocean in the interim, but noted he was a lifeguard when he was younger.
To learn more about the Aquatic and Fitness Center programs and membership, go online to ocnj.us/AquaticFitnessCenter.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff