Former Swanson Highlands Pool board members accused of stealing thousands of dollars

NewsCenter 16 has learned new information about a St. Joseph County neighborhood pool that abruptly closed last season. The current board of Swanson Highlands Community Pool is accusing the former treasurer and vice president of stealing more than 120,000 dollars.

The money was unaccounted for last season, forcing the pool to suddenly close in July, with lifeguards not getting paid. When the new board took over, the pool was more than 40,000 dollars in debt. The debt included anything from unpaid property taxes and chemicals to trash services.

As of Wednesday night, we have a better idea why.

The new board said former Treasurer Amy Hardy was taking the money over a period of two years while she was in her position.

No formal charges have yet been filed, but in a police report, the current board members accuse Hardy and her boyfriend, Antwain Johnson, the former vice president, of taking "tens of thousands of dollars."

The new pool board wants the public to know that this is something that won't happen again, especially as they have working so hard to re-open in 10 days.

"I don't think people realized how much the pool meant to them until it went away," said Suzanne Dunne, the now president of the pool board and interim treasurer.

Dunne and the entire board have been working tirelessly to make the pool a reality this season.

"We've put in a lot of effort over the winter months to try and get our finances in order and prepare for opening day," Dunne said.

In August of 2017, they filed a police report when they found that money was allegedly being mishandled by then treasurer Amy Hardy.

"It was clear from the beginning that money was being used for personal use," Dunne said. "Within minutes of getting access to the bank records that was self-evident."

Dunne said the bank account records showed the money being used for personal trips, being transferred into other bank accounts and taken out in cash.

This is something the board said will never happen again.

"There's so many connections in our neighborhood to this pool and we're not going to let it fail," Dunne said.

They are now looking to hire a new treasurer. That position is only supposed to be held by one person for no more than two years.

Additionally, they said if they're spending more than 50 dollars on something that the entire board has to agree on the expenditure.

"Now every member of the board has access to those so there's nothing closed, our finances are shared monthly with all of the board members," Dunne said.

Through money they were able to get from insurance and fundraisers during the off season, they were able to purchase a new diving board, pool heater and to fix an issue with the sliding board. They've also launched a new website.

"We hope to convey the spirit of the pool," Dunne said. "It's a fun place to be in the summer."

It's a place they hope to keep around for decades to come.

"It's maybe a blessing that it happened because things have been let go for several years and this was a chance to get it back up and running the way it should," Dunne said.

NewsCenter 16 reached out to the phone number in the police report for Amy Hardy, but it turns out it's no longer an active number.

Now, the pool is finally in the positive and has more fundraising efforts to come, including a garage sale this weekend. It'll take place on Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.at the pool. All of the money will go toward making additional repairs and will be an opportunity for the community to check out the upgrades to the pool.

Swanson Highlands Community Pool is hopeful to get about 210 memberships this season and keep it as a staple of the neighborhood.

The pool is set to open on May 26.