If you missed last night’s meeting: Superintendent Tim Gallagher gathered ideas from the public for a long-term vision for Magnuson Park. He encouraged anyone who missed the meeting to email comments to him at Timothy.Gallagher@Seattle.Gov. Make sure to use his full name — there’s a "Tim.Gallagher" in the City’s transportation department who gets a lot of Parks email! You can also comment on whether 4:30pm or later on in the evening is a good time for you to participate in future meetings, or just request to join the email notification list for future meetings.
We’re delighted to report that pools were well represented, so you do not need to drown Tim in pool emails right now :). Thanks to all who spoke for pools last night!
What’s next? Parks is going to organize another meeting where your participation will be important. Attendees will be broken up into small groups. Each small group will come up with a future vision for the park — drawing *exclusively* from items mentioned last night, ideas emailed to Tim or existing plans for Magnuson. Items included in each group’s vision will need to have unanimous support of all members of the group. This means there will be some horse trading, so having people who care about pools in each group would be a good thing.
Yes, the process to shape the vision for Magnuson will be long, but participation is the only way to get pools (perhaps an indoor/outdoor complex?) back into the vision for Magnuson.
Cool thing we noticed: A graphic showing Magnuson’s potential actually included a pool as a possibility for the Building 2 site. Building 2 (mapped on the right) occupies a large spot in the Historic District and Parks says it must be demolished — making it a perfect site for pools. The only other potential use Parks mentioned last night was "Potential film studio."
New Parks Program: “School of FISH” free/discounted swim lessons
11 Dec
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Just saw this on the Parks Department web site — looks like it’s the follow-up to the "Learn to Swim" program that was cut in the 2009-2010 city budget. Neat to see that Parks found a way to continue free/discounted swim lessons for kids despite budget cuts!
School of "FISH"
Beginning January 2009
School of FISH (Fun Instruction in our Swimming Holes) is a specially priced, beginning swimming lesson program for families. Learn beginning swimming skills with your school-aged child in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
School of FISH offers discount pricing of $2 per lesson for a paired parent and child. Your first session (10 classes) is free with a voucher. Please register ahead of time in person at one these three pools, online or over the phone.
This program is intended for elementary and middle school-aged children and their parents. Each child must be accompanied 1:1 in the water by an adult.
Beginning swimming skills taught in this program include water adjustment, bubble blowing, breath holding, kicking on front, back float and using a life jacket.
Join our School of FISH! Have some fun! Jump in the pool!
Magnuson Park Meeting, Wednesday, December 10, 4:30 pm. We just learned of an excellent opportunity to voice your support for a future public pool at Magnuson Park. Superintendent Gallagher "…is interested in hearing from the community about what people would like to see next in this unique urban park." Location: Magnuson’s "View Ridge Room" at Building 406 (“The Brig”). Full info.
January Team Meeting. We’ll address next steps, including applying for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant to partially fund the Comprehensive Aquatics Plan. We’ll meet at a community center in Southeast Seattle. Members of our mailing list will receive an invitation with details in a few weeks. Email info@seattlepools.org to join that list.
Thank you. A hearty thanks for your enthusiastic letters to the City Council in support of funding a Comprehensive Aquatics Plan. As you know, tough economic times meant that the Council had to focus its budget efforts on Health & Human Services this year. Nevertheless, your efforts accrued strong goodwill among Councilmembers. This will pay off in future years. Councilmember Burgess described your efforts as "some of the best grassroots lobbying efforts that I’ve seen this year." According to Councilmember Godden, these efforts "certainly will not be forgotten [in future budget cycles]." For further Council feedback, see this post.
Feel free to use part or all of this update in your neighborhood or team newsletter. Thank you for your ongoing support for public pools!
Seattle Community Council Federation Supports Aquatics Planning
07 Dec
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Project Seattle Pools thanks the Federation for its letter of support, delivered to the City Council in November:
Dear Councilmembers:
At its October 23rd meeting, the Seattle Community Council Federation, a coalition of community groups throughout Seattle, endorsed funding for the proposal for a Comprehensive Aquatics Plan. We were disappointed to learn that due to the current economic climate, funding will not be available during the current budget cycle. We urge you retain funding for a Comprehensive Aquatics Plan as a priority in future budget cycles and to think creatively about alternative sources of funding in the coming year.
Swimming is such a healthy activity for seniors, families and kids, yet Seattle is sorely lacking in facilities. There is especially a need for therapeutic pools to serve the needs of those with disabilities who must currently travel to the eastside.
With a Comprehensive Aquatics Plan, the City will have the tools it needs to improve its current pool system, develop siting criteria and a needs assessment, address maintenance issues and explore funding options.
The Federation urges you to continue to consider funding for a Comprehensive Aquatics Plan in the future. Thank you for considering our views.
Sincerely,
Rick Barrett, Vice President
