5-16-2026 9:18pm

Middletown Franklin Township Residents Will Have A Public Pool For 2026

Beth Callahan Editor

Image from Atrium YMCA Website

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, MIDDLETOWN WARREN COUNTY, OH -- In the summer of 2025 residents in Franklin Township, which includes the Cities of Carlisle, Franklin and potion of Middletown witnessed the closing of the Paul E. Fitzgerald Pool closing.

The 50 plus year old pool operated by the City of Franklin was denied a permit by the health department to open last year (2025 season) due to multiple code compliance and safety issues. (For more information about the pool's closing visit the city of Franklins website here where councilman Todd Hall and Mayor Brent Centers go into further detail why the pool needed to be closed.)

Along with the City of Franklin loosing its only public pool, residents in the City of Middletown had lost their public pools: Sunset and Douglass, which had closed years ago due to rising operating costs.

But thanks to the working of the city of Middletown and the Atrium YMCA, Middletown, along with Franklin Township Middletown residents, will have a public pool to go to this summer. A long-planned aquatic center on Middletown’s East End, which is located in Franklin Township, will open May 23, marking the return of a public swimming option to residents in the city of Middletown.

The new YMCA Monsoon Bay Aquatic Center, located at 5750 Innovation Drive, features a pool, water slide, concession stand, shaded seating, picnic tables and an outdoor bathhouse. And, pool users do not need to be YMCA members to use the pool. The City of Middletown has made a contract with with the Atrium YMCA for Middletown residents, who are not members of the Atrium YMCA, to pay daily rates to use the pool. The cost will be $5 for children and $10 for adults — a rate set for the next 20 years under a cooperative agreement between the YMCA and the City of Middletown.

The City of Middletown helped fund the project through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Construction on the facility began in October of 2024 with the goal of bringing a pool feature back to Middletown that will emphasize water safety and fun for all ages. Monsoon Bay features a zero-entry pool and is highlighted on the opposite end of the water by two large 30-foot water slides.

Pricing for non-Middletown residents is not listed on the the Atrium YMCA at this time... https://cityofmiddletown.org/m/newsflash/home/detail/70, but will be asked about after the pool's ribbon cutting on Monday.