An enthusiastic crowd of citizen activists attended the City Council’s Budget Hearing yesterday and spoke for many issues important to the people of our city.
16 costumed pool supporters received a strong round of applause from the audience for their testimony — and probably also for their costumes (goggles, swimsuits, towels, flipflops, a sunhat, several pairs of water wings, a wetsuit, rubber ducks, a fish float ring and an inflatable alligator). It was a pleasure to participate and speak for our public pools. Photos kindly contributed by Danielle Morrow.
Elizabeth: My name is Elizabeth Nelson and I am here on behalf of Project Seattle Pools. I would like to thank Councilmembers Rasmussen, Conlin and Burgess for their leadership towards a Comprehensive Aquatics Plan and their sponsorship of this budget item.
I would also like to thank the other attendees and speakers here tonight. These are difficult times for our city and country, so I’m glad to see so many of my fellow citizens supporting the core services provided by our city.
In tough economic times like these, we must still look ahead to a brighter future and engage in long-term planning. Modernizing our city’s aging public pool system will provide health benefits to citizens of all ages and abilities, but it will require careful long-term planning.
We’re here looking ridiculous in our goggles, wetsuits and water wings to share with you some of the sunshine and joy that swimming brings into our lives. We ask for your help in bringing the sunshine of swimming into the lives of more Seattle citizens. It’s hard to swim in the lake in October, even in wetsuits.
We urge you to fund a Comprehensive Aquatics Plan for Seattle. 9/10 of our pools were built over 30 years ago, kids are being turned away from lessons and many of our pools are packed to the gills. No public pool has a graduated entry ramp for wheelchair entry. At the same time, pools are the poster child for a challenge facing the entire Parks Department – long-term financing for maintenance and operations.
The Comprehensive Aquatics Plan will answer fundamental questions such as: How should the City fund long-term maintenance and operation of pool facilities? Which current facilities need renovation and how much will those renovations cost? How can we best provide healthy swimming opportunities to underserved populations? And how should all of these needs be prioritized?
Yvette: My name is Yvette Moy. We are here to represent our neighbors in the Southeast. We would like to remind you that the Jefferson/Rainier Valley area is acknowledged by Parks to be underserved by pools of any kind. Also, there is no outdoor public pool anywhere in Southeast Seattle, or anywhere else east of I-5.
Laurin: I’m Laurin Williams, a high school swimmer, and I’m here to represent the many young people who care about our public pools. Due to the shortage of pool space, I get up at 4:30 am to join my team in the pool.
I’d like to address how the proposed budget cuts the “Learn to Swim” program. This program provided vouchers for free lessons to 1,300 3rd and 4th graders each year. 62% of these kids started out as non-swimmers. Flyers were mailed in 11 languages, so some kids arrived at lessons translating for their parents. The site with the highest redemption rate for vouchers was Rainier Beach Pool.
The elimination of the Learn-to-Swim program demonstrates how long-term financing issues for Parks impact basic health and safety programming.
Whitney: Good evening. I am Whitney Hite, Head Swim Coach at the University of Washington, but I am here tonight as a private citizen to lend my support for the Comprehensive Aquatics Plan. As I was heading over to Beijing this summer to witness swimming in the Olympics, I read an article in an outdoor magazine. It rated Seattle as the second healthiest city, only because of a lack of swimming facilities. It would have been rated number one. As we all saw in the Olympics, there is immense support for swimming in this city and country.
Shelby: I’m another high school swimmer who gets up at 4:30 am to swim. I’d like to share a quote from the Learn-to-Swim web site:
“Because we live in a city surrounded by water, we believe that swimming is a basic life skill which is essential for every child in Seattle. Studies have shown that children are developmentally receptive to learning to swim at this age. They are able to acquire the foundation for a lifetime of healthy activity and an added level of personal safety.”
Thank you for your time and please support the Comprehensive Aquatics Plan.
Video of the hearing is available on the Seattle Channel — see the October 8, 2008 budget hearing here. We’ve heard we’re about 89 minutes into the video.
