For older citizens, childhood memories of summer almost always include trips to the public swimming pool. It was as much a part of summer as bare feet, sunburns and homemade ice cream.

But the days of public or community pools appear to be largely behind us. One bright spot has been the continued operation of Starkville’s public pool at Moncrief Park, but as the city’s board of aldermen decide how to spend millions of dollars in bond money devoted to improving the city’s park system, there is some question on the future of the pool.

The pool is in bad condition. It leaks profusely. The pool house that includes dressing rooms needs a roof. There are rusted pipes and peeling paint. Usage is down, too. The pool has a 80-person capacity but this summer average daily use was down to 34 swimmers.

Patching the existing pool would run around $50,000, while a more complete fix would be about $500,000. The possibility of decommissioning the Moncrief Park pool and building a new one has also been mentioned.

We’re encouraged that the general sentiment is to continue to explore offering some type of public access to a pool.

According to the USA Swimming Foundation, there has been a 5-to-10 percent increase in youth swimming since 2010 although historical disparities among white and Black swimmers persist. According to the U.S. Consumer Protection Commission, just 3-in-10 Black children have basic-to-good swimming skills compared to 6-in-10 white children.

One factor in the disparity between Black and white swimming skills is access.

If the aldermen choose to abandon the pool of Moncrief Park, which is located in a predominantly Black neighborhood, that access may disappear entirely.

Before the board reaches that conclusion, we argue that there is merit in providing a clean, well-maintained and safe pool and that tapping into organizations like USA Swimming, which provides millions of dollars in grants to promote learn to swim programs, will go a long way in justifying the costs of bringing the pool up to optimum standards.

The costs are not prohibitive. One need look no farther than Fayette, Alabama, to recognize that providing quality water-park facilities is not a waste of taxpayer dollars. In 2013, Fayette took out $2.3 million in bonds to build a 130-acre aquatic center, complete with an Olympic-size swimming pool, a 35-foot tower with three slides, a lazy river and a splash pad. The city hoped to pay off that debt in 10 years. It took just three. Each year, the facility attracts 25,000 visitors, pumping enormous revenue in the city and businesses.

No one is suggesting that Starkville make that kind of investment, of course, but suddenly providing $500,000 to bring Moncrief Pool up to top standard does not seem much of a risk when measured against its possible benefits.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.