After decades of debate, South Miami breaks ground on public pool
When former Harlem Globetrotter (and then-South Miami city commissioner) Leroy “Spike” Gibson proposed building a public pool in the city in 1968, the project seemed to fill a necessary void in the community. This month, South Miami finally broke ground on the Murray Park community pool.
Forty-five years of funding debates and political disagreement gave way to the satisfaction of fulfilled dreams for parks and recreation board member Dick Ward, who managed Gibson’s two successful campaigns.
“As I said at the commission meeting a month ago, I’ve dreamed about getting a pool in the city of South Miami,” Ward said. “Now, 52 years later, that dream came true. It certainly feels good to know the efforts of a lot of people, as well as myself, had a lot to do with making the pool a reality. I have to give credit to South Miami Mayor (Phil) Stoddard for pushing it through.”