Progress Thus Far

Initial Pool Study.  Thanks to strong community support, the Parks Department performed an initial outdoor pool feasibility study in 2008.  Money for the study came from the existing parks budget and cover an assessment of needs.  Thanks go to the Parks Department for finding a way to make funds available despite a tight budget.  Thanks will also go to the City Council for passing a Statement of Legislative Intent to support this study.

UV Treatment Systems.  Please see this post for details.  The City will likely fund UV systems for multiple pools in 2009 using its energy efficiency budget.

City Council Resolution 31073: A recommendation to address unmet swimming needs in a 2010 levy

Next Steps

Summer 2008:  Mayor’s Budget.  We are in the process of identifying how to best advocate for inclusion of a full aquatics strategic plan in the Mayor’s 2008 budget.  That money would allow the city to hire an urban planner to assess costs and sites, plus hold community meetings to get input on the number and location of pools.

2009:  Urban Planning Meetings.  The urban planner (theoretically hired with money allocated as described above) will hold community meetings across the city.  At this time, pool advocates for specific areas and configurations can speak up.  This is the time for communities to reach out to the City and request pool facilities (outdoor, indoor, rehab, 50 meter, whatever is needed) in their own neighborhoods.   

Late 2009-?:  Fund Raising.  After the urban planner (hypothetically) completes a full, city-wide feasibility study for pools and finishes gathering community input, he will release a list of potential sites.  At this time, neighborhood groups can speak up in favor particular sites.  This will be the time to raise funds and write grant proposals to assist with construction costs.

Example For Us:  The Skate Park Public Process

This link shows the public process that preceded skate park construction — the development of a city-wide skate park plan. 

This plan succeeded in catalyzing the construction of multiple skate parks.  By assessing city-wide needs and gathering community input, it brought consensus on the best sites throughout the city.  Site selection considered the locations with the highest levels of community support, equity issues, relative site feasibility and costs and many other issues.  All of these required professional, city-wide planning. 

This type of public process may be longer than we community members initially expect, but it is genuinely the smoothest route towards building pools.  As strange as it may seem to you, not all citizens wish to have a pool next door, so you may need to prove that your community’s pool can not go somewhere else before the site mitigation process allows construction. This public review process is necessary to be fair both to those who live near potential sites and to those who might wish to have a pool closer to their own homes.