Summary

Next Step.  Get pools into the Seattle Parks Dept.’s new Strategic Plan

  • How?  Community members like you need to attend public meetings in late November to get pools prioritized in the new Parks Strategic Plan.  You can help boost attendance by posting our Flyer in your neighborhood.
  • Why?  Parks will prioritize investments for the next 5+ years based on community feedback at these 33 community meetings.  Broad representation at the majority of these meetings is what is needed to convince Parks to invest in pools beyond an initial study.
  • Who?  If you have friends in other parts of the city, ask one of them to attend a meeting in their neighborhood.
  • Where/When?  Our site lists all the meetings and whether there’s a pool rep scheduled to attend each one.  Email Elizabeth if you can cover a meeting and she’ll add you to the list on our site.  There’s also a map and more info on the City’s site.

Progress Thus Far:  Initial Feasibility Study Funded

  • Funding.  Because of your letters, the Seattle Parks Department found money in their existing budget to cover the cost of an initial feasibility study.  [Details:  Councilmember Della will not propose the study as originally conceived and funding will not be part of the Mayor’s budget. Lots o’ politics, but a reasonable end result.]
  • Future.  The result of the initial study will be a business case to better understand the costs and benefits associated with indoor and outdoor pools, and a needs assessment of current beach and existing pool use.  This initial study will inform the process for moving ahead and is the first step towards identifying pool sites.  For the full future trajectory, see History and Future on our site.

New Name/Site/Leadership

  • Name. We’ve become Project Seattle Pools.  Pools of any kind and in any location will only get built when City leaders hear a wide-ranging call for pools.  Changing our name helps us broaden support and advocate more effectively for pool space.  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/therapy pools… the need for all of these is clear when existing facilities are overflowing.
  • Site.  We’ve moved to: www.seattlepools.org.
  • Lead.  Elizabeth Nelson has taken over Christine’s coordination role. She would like to form a network of pool reps (see below) and—ideally– a core leadership team.  She won’t be able to fill Christine’s big shoes alone.  Christine’s dedication continues to serve Parks in her neat new role.

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:

  • Swim Team & Masters Team Reps.  Post fliers at team practices.  Email your team members.  Speak up at team meetings.  Chat with other parents in the bleachers.  Get info into team newsletters.
  • School Reps.  Make sure announcements get into your school’s newsletters.
  • Community Club Reps.  Ask your Community Club to write a letter of support.  Get info into your neighborhood’s newsletter.  Put up fliers in your neighborhood.
  • Private Pool Reps.  Even though private pool members already have access to pools, they know friends who can’t get in off of waiting lists.  Can you get the word out to members and wait lists?
  • Core Leadership Team Members.  Email Elizabeth if you’d like to help lead this project.

Bonus for Volunteer Reps:  An email address @seattlepools.org if you’d like one.

 

Other Ways To Make A Difference:

  • Write to (soon-to-be-confirmed) Superintendent Tim Gallagher, Seattle Parks and Recreation, 100 Dexter Ave N.,Seattle, WA 98109.  Tell him why outdoor swimming is so important.  Better yet, have your child write to him!    
  • Write to Mayor Greg Nickels, PO Box 94749 Seattle, WA 98124-4749.  Tell him why pools (particularly outdoor pools) "build strong families and healthy communities," one of his key initiatives.   

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.