L.L. Bean gift puts Dakin Pool effort over top

BANGOR – Gov. John Baldacci and his brothers and sisters swam there as kids. So did City Councilor Gerry Palmer and former state Sen. Tom Sawyer Jr., to name a few.

Slated for closure just two years ago due to high cost estimates for crucial repairs, Dakin Pool now is assured a future, thanks in large part to a $25,000 gift from outfitter L.L. Bean.

Scott Kennedy, manager of the company’s new outlet store at Bangor Parkade, presented the gift during a gathering Thursday.

In recognition of the gift, the new pool house will be named after the Freeport-based company, which also operates a customer service call center near Bangor International Airport.

“We are delighted to have L.L. Bean here in Bangor, and we are deeply honored to have earned their support for this important community campaign,” said Sawyer, the campaign’s honorary chairman. Sawyer brought with him a 1957 snapshot of himself as a youngster at the pool.

“L.L. Bean is synonymous with outdoor recreation and activity, and the renovations they are helping to fund at Dakin Pool will enhance the quality of life for the families and children who live here for generations to come,” he said.

Bean’s donation, along with a $22,500 federal grant from a program administered by the state Department of Conservation, pushed the money-raising campaign – dubbed “Summer in the City: The Campaign for Dakin Pool” – beyond its $100,000 goal, according to Michael Robinson, president of Friends of Dakin Pool.

The Friends group is a local nonprofit organization formed to raise funds for the repairs needed to keep the pool open.

“We’re excited. We started it and we finished it, and we exceeded our goal,” Robinson said.

As of Thursday, the group had raised $142,058 through contributions from 165 individuals and businesses. Gifts were still coming in this week. A final tally will be announced in January.

“You will see a whole new look for Dakin Pool next June,” Robinson promised Thursday.

The money raised during the campaign will fund improvements in five distinct areas at the Dakin Pool complex:

. A new 28- by 36-foot pool house, which will include restrooms, a first-aid station, lifeguard office and outside showers.

. A new fence to create a large, grassy picnic and play area adjacent to the pool.

. Repairs to the pool deck.

. A new walkway.

. A new 10- by 14-foot equipment building to house the pool pump and filtration system.

According to Robinson, the additional money will be used to make improvements over and above those originally planned, including more picnic tables and equipment for the play area.

City Engineer Jim Ring said Thursday that work at the pool site is progressing nicely.

The foundation work for the bathhouse and equipment building is finished, which he said will facilitate the addition of the two buildings now being constructed by construction technology students at Eastern Maine Community College. The in-kind contribution is valued at $10,000.

The Dakin Park Swimming Pool is located on Bangor’s east side – at the end of Pine Street just past Stillwater Avenue, across from Broadway Park.