A pool supporter kindly offered to share her strong letter. It’s an inspiration:
Dear Council and Committee Members:
I am writing to strongly urge you to invest in the health and well-being of Seattle citizens by including the development of at least one new warm water therapy pool in the Seattle Parks levy.
Warm water (88-94 degree) therapy pools are in dire need in our community. They are useful for those with mobility issues, for those recovering from injury, for children learning to swim and for seniors maintaining and increasing their health. With the increase in the population of seniors, the need for restorative swim centers that are designed to be barrier-free is critical. No warm water therapy pools are open to the public in Seattle year-round. There are simliar pools in Bellevue and Mountlake Terrace. (There is one warm water (94 degree) pool available in the summer months in Magnolia.)
I am acutely aware of this lack of warm water therapy pools since my daughter has been old enough to learn to swim. Because of her disability, she carries little body fat and can’t tolerate the standard 84 degree pool temperature of lap pools, such as the Seattle public pools. The doctors have told us again and again that swimming is the best exercise for her. We have searched and searched for a place for her to swim locally. She currently swims at Seattle Children’s Hospital weekly and has had a great increase in her muscle tone and flexibility. We are lucky enough to be able to afford to access the Hospital pool but swim opportunities like this should be available to the entire public. This is a form of recreation that is open to anyone and in an inclusive setting! What other sport can say that?
Let’s match or exceed the quality of swim opportunities seen in our neighboring communities — I urge you to add at least one warm water therapy pool to the Seattle City Parks.
Contact information for sending your own letter is included in the post called: Update from SeattlePools.org: Help Put Pools in the Parks Levy. Thank you for your support for pools!
12 May
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Dear Pool Supporters:
Now it’s time to remind both Parks and the City Council of your support for pools. Both the final Parks Strategic Plan and the Pro-Parks Levy proposal are being hammered out right now. On top of this, the Council will soon review the prelim pool study. Your participation really does make a difference. Read on for instructions on how YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR AQUATICS, AGAIN!
ACTION ONE: Submit Public Comments to the City Council’s Citizens Committee for a New Park Levy
The committee will advise the Council by June 30 on the pros and cons of asking voters to renew a parks levy on November’s ballot. As part of that process, the Committee will analyze specific parks projects that could be covered by renewal of the levy. Please suggest that funds for pools be included in the proposed levy– email parksandgreenspaceslevy@seattle.gov and be sure to cc the leader of Parks Department Strategic Planning process (mickey.fearn@seattle.gov) and/or the Superintendent of the Parks Department (timothy.gallagher@seattle.gov). Optionally, you can also attend the 3 public forums for the Levy Committee in person (details: http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/parks_levy.htm#names).
ACTION TWO: Remind the City Council of your interest in the results of the preliminary pool study
Email each of these Councilmembers INDIVIDUALLY:
On one of these mails, please cc mickey.fearn@seattle.gov - Leader of Parks Strategic Planning Process
In your brief email to Councilmembers please remember to:
Thank you for your dedicated advocacy for public pools.
16 Mar
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
During April and the first week of May 2008, the Parks Department will hold its second round of public meetings to solicit feedback on its strategic plan. We expect to see a link to the draft plan on the Parks web site before April, but the draft has not yet been posted.
Please help us ensure that the Parks Department continues to hear steady, broad support for pools by attending one of the 2008 public meetings listed here: Actions Needed
Thanks to all of you who attended public planning meetings during November/December last year. Hints suggest that your voices were heard– congratulations!
16 Mar
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
We’ve had our ears to the wind to catch hints of whether the Parks Department heard our call for pools during the first round of strategic planning meetings in 2007.
Nothing concrete yet — the draft strategic plan still hasn’t been released — but we’ve seen one very good sign. The Jan 10 Parks Board of Commissioners Meeting Summary lists pools as the second item heard at the public forums:
The meeting minutes also summarize Park’s success in soliciting public comments:
16 Mar
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
The North District Community Council recently expressed its support for pools to the Seattle City Council and Mayor. The North District is one of 13 District Councils in the city and represents the communities located in the North region of Seattle. The following letter, addressed to Council President Richard Conlin, was delivered to all Seattle City Council members, plus the Mayor:
Dear Councilmember Conlin:
At our February North District Council meeting, we held a community discussion about the number and adequacy of city owned swimming pools in Seattle. It is our understanding that since the construction of the pools funded by the Forward Thrust measure of 1968, only one new pool has been built.
We are writing this letter to request that the Seattle City Council, along with the Mayor, Parks Department and appropriate board or commission, fund and carry out a study to determine if the current number of city owned swimming pools meets the needs of our citizens.
We also request that if the study indicates a need for additional pools, a funding and planning proposal be developed, and if necessary, placed in front of the voters for approval.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely
Renee Staton
Co-Chair, North District Council
This letter joins other letters of support available for your review on our Supporters page.
16 Mar
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Seattle’s Child magazine recently ran an article on Project Seattle Pools that included a great quote from the originator of the Seattle pool efforts:
“Our city has not kept up with the times. Whenever you have long wait lists (three to 12 years) and expensive fees to join private clubs ($2,000-$25,000), swimming becomes an exclusive activity,” Larsen says.
Our thanks go to Seattle’s Child for helping to get the word out about the need for pool supporters to speak for pools during the upcoming forums for the Seattle Park’s Department’s strategic plan.
16 Mar
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
The Seattle
“The goal of SGCI’s Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) is to help find practical solutions to make neighborhoods better places to live and work as this city grows. We want to be a resource for Seattleites interested in helping shape new development and seeking neighborhood improvements.”
Seems like a great opportunity to learn from pros.
Earlier this year, the Capital Hill Times ran a nice article introducing the new Superintendent of Parks, Tim Gallagher. His strong interest in health and fitness is a great sign for pools. This interest is not just theoretical — read the full article to find out how he managed to interview for his new position while trekking the Pacific Crest trail.
Excerpt from: Tim Gallagher takes over the parks department
By Russ Zabel 01/01/2008
Environmental sustainability and health and fitness are issues that are a real concern for him, Gallagher said. On the environmental front, that includes the kinds of vehicles and equipment the department uses and how money is spent, he said.
Health and fitness - especially for kids - is even more important, according to Gallagher. "This will be the first generation in history where children are expected to die younger than their parents," he said with a frown.
Gallagher blames the loss of unstructured play and the epidemic of childhood obesity, which has reached the 35-percent mark in Los Angeles, he said: "It’s clearly not as bad up here, but it’s still horrible."
09 Jan
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Interested in future funding for Seattle Parks (and thus possibly pools)? We’ve all been invited to a forum that will address future directions for investments in parks and green infrastructure. Here’s the invite:
Seattle Great City Initiative’s "What it Takes" Forum Series:
Post Pro-Parks: What is Seattle’s Next Round of Green Infrastructure
Investments?
Thursday, January 17, 5:30 - 7:00
Seattle Public Library
1000 4th AvenueSeattle is known as a ‘green city’ for its environmental leadership and for its natural beauty. As our city grows, and as the magnitude of our environmental challenges increases, it becomes ever more important that we incorporate more "green" into our planning—parks, open spaces and ecological restoration. But we know that money is always tight, and even more so with the expiration of the Pro-Parks Levy in 2008.
Join a distinguished panel of local experts for a close look at "what it takes" to define and fund the most important new investments in parks, boulevards, and green infrastructure to ensure our city grows more beautiful and more environmentally sustainable.
Guest Panelists:
Council Member Tom Rasmussen, Chair of the Parks Committee
Bruce Blume, local property developer and board member of Seattle Parks Foundation
Jack Tomkinson, Neighborhood Parks Advocate, Director of Urban Sparks and founder of Fremont Peak Park
Nancy Rottle, Director of the UW’s Green Futures Lab, Co-director Open Space Seattle 2100Moderator:
Brice Maryman, Landscape Architect, co-leader of Open Space Seattle 2100, and board member of the Seattle Great City Initiative.We are proud to have the following cosponsors for this forum: Sierra Club, Groundswell NW, Futurewise, Feet First, AIA Seattle, Friends of Seattle.
Seattle Great City Initiative is bringing together environmentalists, neighborhood advocates and business leaders to advocate for Seattle as a great place to live and work, and a model of economic and environmental sustainability.
The Seattle Great City Initiative is a program of the Cascade Land Conservancy and the Cascade Agenda. To learn more visit: www.greatcity.org
17 Dec
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Thanks all of you who attended the Parks Department Strategic Planning Meetings to speak for pools.
You Can Still Send Your Comments: Note that you can still express your support for pools via the Parks Department Survey. You can also email your comments to the Parks Strategic Planning Coordinator: Susanne Friedman Susanne.Friedman@Seattle.Gov.
Attendance. We’ve received direct reports of attendance at 13 of the 32 meetings, so we certainly succeeded in demonstrating broad support for pools. Many people did not tell us about their specific attendance plans beyond "Count on me!," so meeting coverage was likely higher than 13/32– probably about half of the meetings were covered. In general, once one pool supporter spoke up, other attendees voiced their enthusiasm for pools.
Detailed Reports:
Next Steps for Parks: The Parks Department will publish a draft Strategic Plan early in 2008 after reviewing community feedback. At that time, it will hold another round of public meetings (roughly Spring 2008). Please note that Parks will continue to accept public feedback electronically throughout this process, so don’t hesitate to continue to send your comments today via the methods listed at the beginning of this post.
Superintendent. Thanks to Kathy and Chris, we now know that the soon-to-be-confirmed Superintendent sees fighting childhood obesity as a priority. Pools help kids establish healthy habits by providing fun ways to be active, so we have good hope that Superintendent Gallagher will support our efforts.
Regional Coordination. Pacific Northwest Swimming organized a regional pool planning meeting on December 16th and will continue to coordinate regional planning. Anyone interested in involvement in regional planning is welcome to contact elizabeth@seattlepools.org. Two other groups involved in regional planning are North Shore Aquatics (http://sports.
Follow-up to Pro-Parks Levy. We’ve been invited to the next meeting of the Seattle Great City Initiative on January 9th at 7:30 am (email Elizabeth if you’d like to attend). This group hopes to place a follow-up Pro-Parks levy before voters when the Pro-Parks levy expires in 2008. It’s easier to get levies renewed than passed for the first time.
Meadowbrook Advisory Council. Terry V. from the Meadowbrook Advisory Council has invited us to speak about our project at their next meeting. The Council is advocating for improvements to Meadowbrook pool. Email elizabeth@seattlepools.org if you’d like to find out more.
North District Council. In November, we spoke to the North District Council about Project Seattle Pools. At its February 6th meeting, the Council will hopefully vote to send a letter of support on our behalf to the Parks Department. They have been very supportive. Community councils have a great deal of influence in Seattle (we’re a grass-roots city!), so email elizabeth@seattlepools.org if you can advocate on behalf of pools at an upcoming meeting of your own community council.
November Pool Team Meeting. In case you missed our core team meeting in November, you can read the Meeting Notes. We’ll meet again in January or February as needed.
Humor. We’ve heard rumor that a group has been vocally advocating for naked swim sessions in public pools. Just so there’s no confusion, that group is NOT us. Officially, conclusively, Project Seattle Pools is not advocating on behalf of naked swimming.
04 Dec
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Dear Pool Supporters,
What Happens Next
After completing 30+ public meetings, the Parks Department will use public feedback to hammer out its core functions and goals. Parks will publish a draft strategic plan, then hold another round of 30-plus public meetings in March 2008 to gather public comments on the daft. After further revisions, Parks will submit a revised plan to the City Council. We’ve heard that the feedback Parks receives from the public during this process will influence city leaders outside of the Parks Department (particularly the Mayor and City Council).
Watch www.seattlepools.org for the latest info on the Parks planning process and updates on how to help.
Thank you for your support for public pools!
–
PS. In case you have free time, you can also advocate for pools through your letters and email. Tell city leaders how well pools “build strong families and healthy communities,” one of the Mayor’s key initiatives. Contact info:
Pool supporters attended the first Magnuson Park Open House to learn about renovation plans for the Park. Magnuson Park is just one of many sites that the City could eventually consider for pools. There is certainly no pool proposal on the table for Magnuson (or any other site) right now, despite the implication of the Seattle PI article today.
Highlights from today:
The Parks Department must hear a city-wide call for pool space before it will prioritize pools. The Seattle Parks Department says it must see clear support for pools ACROSS Seattle, not just in one part of the city, before it can prioritize pools in its Strategic Plan. Please help us get pools into the Strategic Plan! Here’s how:
1. Speak for pools at one of the Parks Dept. Strategic Planning Public Meetings (Nov. 26 - Dec. 6). Meetings outside of NE Seattle are not yet well-covered by swimmers.
2. Ask your friends in other parts of the city to speak for pools at the Parks Strategic Planning Public Meetings in their own neighborhoods. You can send them our outreach letter, our Flyer or our url: www.seattlepools.org. All areas of the City will be considered by the Parks Department for any eventual pools.
Electronic Alternative: If you can’t attend of the meetings, you can now use the new Parks Department Survey to comment on the need for pools. Pool supporters can also email comments to Susanne, the Parks Department Strategic Plan coordinator: Susanne.Friedman@Seattle.Gov. We’ve heard that in-person attendance at the planning meetings has the largest impact, but all comments are influential. Thank you!!
Building 2 at Magnuson is still available. We confirmed that there are no imminent plans on the table for Building 2 at Magnuson. This large hanger will likely be torn down. Building 2 has an unblocked view of the water from its North side (map).
The old pool at Magnuson is beyond repair. The old, military pool in Building 47 at Magnuson was described by a Park official as "right out of a horror movie." It isn’t salvageable. Bringing this mothballed pool up to code and replacing its systems would cost more than building anew.
Interested in Magnuson Park as a potential site for public pools? Today (Saturday, Nov. 17th, 11am-1:30pm), you can attend the first of three "Community Vision" open houses for Magnuson Park. Two more open houses happen on the 19th and 27th.
The Parks Department calls these open houses "opportunities for public comment," so you’re welcome to attend and tell Parks Department representatives that you would like to see a public pool at Magnuson or elsewhere. Or pools!
Note: These meetings are not the same as the Parks Strategic Planning meetings, so if you only have time to attend one meeting, you may wish to attend one of the Strategic Planning Meetings instead.
Details on the Magnuson Open Houses from the Parks web site:
Public Invited To Open Houses On "Community Vision" For
The Open Houses will be held on:
All Open Houses will be held at
Parks issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in 2005 to improve the park. That process resulted in proposals for:
For more detailed information about these proposals or the Open Houses, please visit: www.seattle.gov/parks/magnuson/. Additional information may be obtained by contacting Eric Friedli, Enterprise Division Director at 206-684-8369 or eric.friedli@seattle.gov.
06 Nov
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Summary
Next Step. Get pools into the Seattle Parks Dept.’s new Strategic Plan
Progress Thus Far: Initial Feasibility Study Funded
New Name/Site/Leadership
Pool Reps Needed
It will take a broad-based movement to get pools built in Seattle. We need your help to leverage your networks and reach out to your community. Roles we need filled:
Bonus for Volunteer Reps: An email address @seattlepools.org if you’d like one.
Other Ways To Make A Difference:
Summary: Recent Community Meetings.
Thank you for attending the community meetings held at Miller and Meadowbrook Community Centers mid-October. Senior Parks staff members were present at both meetings. Comments included private club waitlist woes, transportation issues, how swimming is great for all ages and abilities, how we live in a water culture and should build skills for our children’s safety, and potential locations for pools (existing parks, new lands, surplus public school property, lidded reservoirs), and how outdoor swimming is a childhood essential. Kathy Whitman from Seattle Parks talked about the importance of multiple bodies of water and shallow water space in any future designs as these elements lead to higher revenues and greater pool success.
Thanks for your support and enthusiasm.
Project Outdoor Pool has become Project Seattle Pools. If you are subscribed to our old site, you will need to re-subscribe to the new one.
We made this change because recent community meetings demonstrated a broad and deep need for pool space, not just outdoor pools. Kathy Whitman, Aquatics Manager for the City of Seattle, considers outdoor pools to be an exceptionally cost-effective way to add pool capacity, so outdoor pools still top our list of priorities. Our end goal is to expand pool space in our city in a cost-effective , community-friendly manner. Outdoor pools, indoor pools, 50 meter pools, rehab pools… the need for all of these is clear when existing facilities are overflowing.
Please email elizabeth@seattlepools.org if you’d like to join the Project Seattle Pools team.