The Gleason Family Y officially opened the newest part of its $4.2 million expansion this weekend, welcoming children of all ages and families to Wareham's first public swimming pool.

"It's wonderful," said Dr. Charles Gleason at the pool's opening cookout on Monday night.  "There have been private pools" in my time, "but this is the first outdoor pool for the public."

The pool is part of the Y's campaign to "Fulfill the Promise.  In addition to the outdoor pool complex, a 4,825 square-foot addition off the back of the building will include new adult locker rooms with steam and sauna facilities and a multipurpose room.  The first part of the expansion, an addition that doubled the size of the gymnasium and added a second-floor running track, was completed in November.

At 3,500 square feet, the pool has the same surface area as the one indoors, but it is much more family-friendly.  Half of the pool is a “zero-entry:” a gradually sloping wading area that mimics the contours of a beach and allows children with limited swimming skills to play in the water.

The facility also contains a bathhouse with locker rooms, first-aid facilities and staff areas so that it can operate on Sundays during the summer when the rest of the Y building is closed.  Families can bring their own food, or purchase food at the snack bar.

There is more work to be done, however.  The pool is currently unheated because the solar-powered hot-water heating system is not yet installed.  Other finishing touches such as landscaping need to be completed, and the pool's cover for the off-season still needs to be obtained.  All told, the Y is looking at raising around an additional $20,000 to finish the project, said Jill Tompkins.

But Gleason said that right now, he's got a more important concern. "We need to make sure it's used," he said.  "If we have warm weather, I'm sure it will be used a great deal and be a great benefit to the community."