Alameda's swim community made a big splash at last night's Oct 1 city council meeting. The council chambers was packed with parents, teens and swim supporters. There was no spare seat left. It was so crowded, the fire marshall made an announcement to clear the standing attendees to the overflow room. The room was so crowded, that members of the high school water polo team were sitting in the aisle. You can view the photos to see for yourself.
Alameda's young swimmers addressed the city council. Teens and middle school kids shared their stories. One spoke of how swimming is a second family for them. Another spoke of how water polo is an important shared activity for their family. Another shared of their goals of swimming at the collegiate level.
Water polo players also spoke about their teams and how the pools need to remain open.
What was the reason for this large number of Alameda parents and kids? Here is a summary:
On 9/17 the city council enacted a resolution stating it will abandon the joint agreement with the school district IF a loan offer falls through. (Read more here) The city offered the school district (AUSD) a $1.1M loan to fix Encinal High pool. If the loan is rejected, or AUSD cannot get an equivalent loan, then the city will ax the joint agreement. The deadline is Oct 21, 2013. After this deadline passes, city will abandon the pools and stated they will pursue solo plans for a future pool by Alameda Point. (Swim community leaders responded that a future pool is good to hear about, but losing use of existing HS pools will bring great loss to swimmers). So it seems like the swimmers are caught between a rock and a hard place. Caught between a tussle involving AUSD and the city.
Who runs the public pools at Alameda HS and Encinal HS? Well, currently the city and the school district, AUSD, share 50/50 on the cost of running the pools. The swim community believes that if the city abandons the joint agreement, then the pools at Alameda's 2 high schools will close; affecting many local swim groups and water polo teams. Alameda Islanders swim team predict closing the pools will entail job losses for several coaches and very real possibility of swim teams closing, stated Don Krause, of Alameda Islanders. (Read more here)
Maybe you're wondering "Who are the users of these pools"? That's a fair question. Well, Alamedan's of all ages use these pools. During the summer, your family may have participated in an ARPD summer swim program. Or maybe you have seen a water polo match at Emma Hood swim center at Alameda High. Here's a list of who else uses these facilities:
- We have the school swim teams and water polo teams from Alameda High and Encinal High Schools.
- We also have local non-profit swim teams pay rent to use the pools as well; this includes the Alameda Islanders, and Alameda Gators swim teams.
- We also have Alameda Aquatic masters, a swim team which includes adults and seniors.
There's a water polo club team as well. So a conservative estimate would be about 500 swimmers and water polo players.
Are city leaders ignoring the kids and their families? Or will they listen to the calls to keep the pools open?
What happens when this Oct 21 deadline comes? As far as swimmers can tell, if the city ends the joint agreement, then it will be very difficult for AUSD to pay for keeping the pools open. Hence the swimmers feel there is a real danger that the pools will close.
What do the swimmers want? They are asking the city to extend the joint agreement for another year, and cancelling the Oct 21 deadline. In the mean time, the city can continue meeting with AUSD to negotiate the loan offer as well.
Sounds like these kids need lots of help. If you agree and feel the same way, please let the mayor and city council know you want to keep the pools open by extending the joint agreement for another year.
-----------------------------------------
City Hall Contact Information
Mayor Marie Gilmore 510-747-4701
mgilmore@alamedaca.gov
City Council
Vice Mayor Marilyn Ashcraft 510-747-4745
mezzyashcraft@alamedaca.gov
Councilmember Stewart Chen 510-747-4728
schen@alamedaca.gov
Councilmember Tony Daysog 510-747-4726
tdaysog@alamedaca.gov
Councilmember Lena Tam 510-747-4722
ltam@alamedaca.gov
City Manager John A. Russo 510-747-4700
manager@alamedaca.gov
