The great pool debate of 2015 has many Natchez residents simply scratching their heads and asking, “Why now?”

Outcry over the need for a public pool has been around since the mid 1990s when the City of Natchez first closed the swimming pool at Duncan Park.

Now another generation of people in Natchez — mostly poor folks — have been raised without public access to a swimming pool, which means many of them never learned to swim.

The City of Natchez and Adams County are considering building a junior Olympic size swimming pool to help appease those critics.

Many details have yet to be worked out, but in a split vote, the city aldermen voted last week to throw their support behind the plan.

But before the first shovel of dirt is turned up, Natchez Mayor Butch Brown has vowed to ensure the issue is fully discussed and debated.

We’ve long said a comprehensive recreation plan is needed, and that plan may include a swimming pool. We have criticized leaders for moving forward with the most expensive part of the recreation plan without fully vetting all the options and figuring out the finances.

Several other communities that are similar in size to Natchez have given differing opinions on whether or not public pools still have a place in the world.

Some love them, some hate them, but all agree public swimming pools are expensive endeavors.

Lately, the option of potentially partnering with the YMCA organization has been given some consideration. If the community is dead set on having a pool in the short-run, partnering with the YMCA may be a good thing to consider.