A hard-core group of about 20 volunteers has raised more than $140,000 in the past two years for the Joppatowne swim club, but that's not nearly enough to keep the facility from heading toward foreclosure.
Unless members of the nonprofit Joppatowne Community Center Inc. find ways to raise at least $40,000 in the next 2 1/2 months, they will have to default on their financial obligation and ownership of the pool will revert to Joseph S. Schlee, the original owner and mortgage holder.
"We have a valuable property here, a fine piece of land in the middle of a planned community and one of the best constructed and largest single pools in the county . . . and we want to keep it," said Christopher Boardman, president of the Joppatowne Community Center Inc., at an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the status of the pool.
"We need wider participation, people with new energy and ideas to help us find ways to keep the pool," Mr. Boardman said.
The nonprofit, incorporated group bought the Joppatowne Swim and Tennis Club two years ago for $350,000 and after extensive renovations reopened the pool and renamed it the Joppatowne Community Center in 1993.
Under a mortgage agreement with Mr. Schlee, the group was to pay $25,000 plus 7 percent interest a year for five years, then pay off the balance.
If ownership of the 4.5-acre property reverts back to Mr. Schlee, the group has agreed not to oppose rezoning of the land for apartments.
The pool costs at least $90,000 a year to operate. The swim club group met its financial obligations last year, but could pay Mr. Schlee only $5,000 this year.
Property taxes for 1994 have not been paid, and there's an outstanding balance on water and sewer bills, Mr. Boardman said.
The pool has been a focal point of the southern Harford community for nearly 30 years.
Mr. Schlee closed the facility at the end of the 1991 season, citing rising maintenance costs and a decline of membership.
By the time the community group took ownership of the pool, the facility had fallen into disrepair. Tiles hung loose in the empty pool and weeds stood 2 feet high on the property, providing a sanctuary for waterfowl. Wires and cobwebs dangled from the greasy kitchen ceiling, the plumbing was defective, and boards covered windows and entrances.
With determination and elbow grease, the volunteers retiled, repainted and refloored the facility, changed the plumbing and valves, and remodeled the kitchen.
For the past two summers, the pool's clear blue water once again beckoned swimmers, and manicured lawns around it invited sunbathers to spread a blanket and relax.
About 170 families joined the pool the first season and 140 families were members in 1994. Membership fees range from $150 a season for one person to $295 for a family of five.
This year, the Boys and Girls Club of Maryland, which has offices in Edgewood, used the pool twice a week, Mr. Boardman said.
"About 100 kids were part of that program and we only charged them $1 each," he said. "We were very glad that such an organization affiliated with us and we want to expand uses of the pool as much as we can."
The center's master plan calls for year-around usage of the facility as a community center and an adult day care-child care center.
But lack of money has made the center's future uncertain.
"We were able to reopen the pool with hard work and a series of small miracles," said Mr. Boardman. "Now we need a big miracle to keep us going."
Initially, the nonprofit group proposed creating a homeowners' tax to finance the swim club and develop a community center. But when residents balked, the group turned its efforts to bake sales and raffles instead.
"We could have raised $1.2 million," Mr. Boardman said of the tax proposal, under which homeowners would have paid $8 a month for three years.
"Bake sales, crab feasts and membership dues just can't raise the kind of money needed to keep the pool open," said Mr. Boardman.
The group is now planning to seek help and guidance from the county administration and state delegation as it searches for ways to secure financial commitments.
The foreclosure originally was scheduled Jan. 1, but Mr. Schlee has granted the group a 60-day extension to give it time to raise the money it needs.
"Mr. Schlee and his family have served this community for years and he is always willing to work with us, but he can't wait for his money forever," said Mr. Boardman.