Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Gloucester County needs a community outdoor swimming pool.

Our neighboring county, Middlesex, will soon open a brand-new pool in the Town of Urbanna, funded with the help of the Tabor Fund and the Marshal Community Pool Project, all but $120,000 of the $1.2 million for the cost of the pool has been raised. The new pool has six marked lanes, enough to host a competitive swim meet.

There is land available within one of the Gloucester County Parks for an outdoor swimming pool.

As a lifeguard at the Riverside Walter Reed Wellness Center, I’ve been able to observe the lap swimmers, water walkers, water aerobics classes, the mentally and physically disabled, and families who use the indoor pool. The pool provides wellness and fitness to the people who are able to use it. More people should have the opportunities to learn to swim, especially in a community like Gloucester with so much waterfrontage.

The cost of membership at the Wellness Center is $62/...