I-Team: Clayton community sweating from swim club in rough water

CLAYTON (WTVD) -- There's no cooling off for a Clayton community hot-headed over the deterioration and closure of its swim club.

Glen Laurel, a neighborhood of some 600 homes, boasts about its pool and tennis courts on the developer's website, but the pictures hardly match what's in the water right now.

"We had already started inviting guests," resident Cheri Gray laments to ABC11. "We had friends that came with us once and it was going to be a good thing."

The Gray family moved to Glen Laurel in Clayton in 2016, and promptly paid more than $1,000 in fees to join the neighborhood pool.

The club, built by developer Bryan Properties, includes the pool, diving board, toddler play area, patio, cabana, snack bar and playground. Many neighborhood kids also joined the swim team.

"When kids know there's something down the road or in your neighborhood to do - not only do they get off the screens but they get together, form friendships, they can be on the swim team," Gray says.

The current owner of the pool club, Swim Club Management, only became the owner of the pool last year, and according to the company's CEO, that happened by default.

In statement sent to ABC11, CEO Brian Sheehan explains, "While it was never our Company's desire or intent to own the Glen Laurel Swim & Tennis property, we did obtain ownership of the property when the former owner defaulted on a significant contractual obligation to our Company."

Records obtained by the ABC11 I-Team show the former owner was Club Management Group, Inc., and its chairman William "Ted" Reese, who purchased the land from the developer.

Sheehan says his company was hired to manage the day to day operations of the pool, including hiring and staffing lifeguards. After obtaining possession of the property, Sheehan says there was a Letter of Intent to sell the club to the owner of the neighboring golf course, but that deal fell through at the beginning of May.

"Unfortunately, this left our Company with little time to ready the pool for the 2018 summer season or find an alternative buyer prior to the season starting," Sheehan tells ABC11.

The president of the Glen Laurel Homeowners Association confirmed to ABC11 the board wants the pool back in action, but it's too early to say exactly what the HOA can do about it. Sheehan says they're working with the HOA to find interested buyers, which may include some nearby homeowners.

"We understand the residents of Glen Laurel are frustrated by this situation and our organization shares in their frustration," Sheehan insists. "We hope we can work with the Homeowners Association or another ownership group to find a mutually beneficial resolution."