The Towson Swim Club's board of directors has instituted a Feb. 29 deadline that will decide whether plans for a pool on the corner of Bosley Avenue and Towsontown Boulevard in Towson will float, or sink.

Josh Glikin, a member of the club's board, said the organization needs 135 more members — for a total of 315 — signed up by the end of the month, or the project will be terminated.

"Our slogan is 'it's now or never,' " he said.

The deadline, which would allow planning to begin for a Memorial Day 2013 opening, is a stipulation of the recent financial commitment that the swim club received from two banks.

"Both of those commitments condition the loan on, among other things, a certain number of members signed up and paid," Glikin said.

In order to meet that Memorial Day 2013 deadline — which is already a full year after the most recent county-imposed deadline — Glikin said engineers have to begin work at the site in March to submit plans to the state for final approval.

"State agencies can take a number of months," Glikin said. "We need to start to really make that May 2013 achievable and give ourselves a little cushion. We may not have as nice a winter for building as this year. We have to plan for as much cushion as we can."

That cushion also represents the board's unwillingness to delay the project any further.

"We've committed as a board not to push the project to May 2014," Glikin said. "That's the story."

A meeting was held Tuesday, Jan. 31, for members to inform them of the deadline, and to ask for their support in what will be a month-long membership blitz.

"The message to members was if they are on board with us, and I think they are knowing how great this pool would be not only for them but for Towson … then we need their help," Glikin said. "We cannot do this alone."

The board will, however, dedicate all of its free time this month to hitting their number before the deadline. It has created new marketing materials, and informational meetings will be held in many Towson neighborhoods.

Membership efforts had slowed after the board thought a private investor would help the pool become a reality. With other financing secured, Glikin said they are "at the point where we feel like we can and do want to go back out and get the membership drive going."

"We've dedicated the better part of four or five years to this, and we want to see it work," he said.

"We think with the 17 of us (board members) and the 100-plus members (all trying to recruit new members), we can do it," Glikin said.

A few members took the board's request for assistance to heart. At Wednesday's meeting at West Towson Elementary School to discuss overcrowding relief, several members wore Towson Swim Club T-shirts to raise awareness for the project.

Fifth District County Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson, said that the county was also a driving force behind the deadline.

"The county is saying in order to even talk about going past Memorial Day (of this year), we need to see there's a financial commitment to moving forward," Marks said.

"My role has been to try to get them the extensions they need," he said. "I don't support county money going into this and don't support destruction of the green ravine, but I do think the advocates deserve the opportunity to get their finances in order."

Marks recognized that the pool could be an asset to the area, and Glikin believes that the pool could be a boon not only for the community, but for homeowners as well.

Membership certificates, which cost $1,975 dollars, can either be refunded once the pool opens or kept and transferred with the holder's house, which can add value to the home.

In addition to the certificate fee, there is a $250 application fee and a $275 initiation fee.

For more information, visit http://www.towsonswimclub.com.