This update on the pool project was just submitted to the Wedgwood Community’s newsletter — feel free to submit all or part of it to your community’s newsletter:

Thanks to all of you who spoke for pools as part of the Parks Department strategic planning process, plus the development of the possible follow-up levy to Pro-Parks.

The draft Parks strategic plan is now available (http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Publications/ParksActionPlan.htm) and puts a strong emphasis on health. The plan emphasizes “healthy and diverse communities,” including “healthy and active lifestyles for all.” Pools are exceptionally good at providing healthy opportunities to all ages and abilities, so they could fit well into the general strategic framework proposed by Parks.

Also encouraging is the Parks Department’s preliminary assessment of our city’s outdoor pool facilities. This document (http://seattlepools.org/wp-content/uploads/file/OutdoorPoolStudy.doc) provides strong evidence for the need for pools. Seattle has built only one pool in 30 years and both outdoor public pools are located on the far left-hand side of the city. Kids are being turned away from lessons at public pools due to a lack of capacity. Over 2,000 families are known to be wait-listed for (costly) admission to private pools. The study also reports excellent cost recovery rates for modern pools with varied bodies of water that can meet diverse needs simultaneously. 87% of yearly costs were covered by income at the modern outdoor pool in Seattle (Mounger) while 78% of costs were covered at the modern Montlake Terrace indoor pool.

Subscribe to http://www.seattlepools.org or contact elizabeth@seattlepools.org to keep up to date on how you can help advocate for public pool space. Thanks for all your help!