The pool at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School will be open to the public this summer for the first time since 2019.
"I think it's invaluable," said Solvang resident Jan Dougan. "Everybody should learn to swim, especially in California."
Dougan said her kids learned to swim at the public pool.
"And then it was also great because they'd have free swim in the afternoon, so your kids could have a lesson and then come back with a thousand other kids to swim in the pool, which made them want to swim, being with their friends," she said.
Another Solvang resident, Randy Rosness, said the lack of a public pool has left few local options.
"I've never been or seen a swimming pool for the people who need it and like to have it," he said.
Now, the cities of Solvang and Buellton are working together to bring back a summer swim program at the high school.
"It stopped because of COVID and nobody brought it back, so we just feel like now is a great time. We're all staffed back at the appropriate levels and the community is growing and it's a great time to do it," said Jenny McClurg, Solvang Parks and Recreation Director.
The cities will run the program themselves, starting with recreational swim and lessons.
The program could cost up to $60,000.
"We will be hiring for lifeguards and swim instructors," McClurg said. "We still have to, you know, get all our facility requests in and get all of that completed, insurance, and so there's just a lot of, you know, paperwork and backend type things."
"It's almost shameful that we're as large as we are and don't have a swim complex or a public swimming area," said Solvang Mayor David Brown. "We're going to present and provide resources to have that swim program reinstated."
The seven-week public swim program is expected to start in mid-June.
