During recent city council meetings, there have been talks of closing the pool at the Hildred T. Moore Aquatic & Fitness Center. The argument is that the pool costs the city roughly $360,000 a year to operate and consistently runs at a deficit to the city. It is also in need of a new dehumidifier, which is also quite costly.

What can’t be measured in dollars and cents is the pool’s value to the community. The center’s pool is a fitness haven for Beaufort County residents of all ages. It’s where young children learn to swim, which can be a mean of staying fit for years to come. There are also plenty of older folks who swim laps on a regular basis to stay healthy and mobile.

Moreover, the rise of swimming as a sport in Washington can be traced directly back to the opening of the pool. The Pam Pack and East Carolina Aquatics teams had to travel to Greenville for practice before the facility was available. Both programs experienced growth as travel for practice became negligible.

Fast-forward many years and the same children who learned to swim as members of the ECA program helped lead Washington to a 2-A state championship. It was the boys’ first title in school history. Kevin Andrews, an ECA alumnus, also went down in Pam Pack history as the first male swimmer to win an individual championship.

Plenty of other ECA alumni from Washington have gone on to accomplish great things. Anna Pfeiffer graduated from Washington and went on to swim for the University of South Carolina. Her younger sister, Emily Pfeiffer, currently swims for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Closing the pool would pull the plug on what is just ascending as one of the region’s most dominant high school swimming programs. The city should make an effort to save the pool, perhaps by seeking funds from the county. It’s worth far more to Washington athletics, ECA and the waterfront community than any number of dollars.