Residents Advocate Continuity of Piedmont Swim Program

Eight residents gave opinions on swimming pool transition plans Wednesday night to the Piedmont Recreation Commission.

The city is preparing to take over management of the pool from the Piedmont Swim Club. It has a preliminary brochure with a motto: “Piedmont Community Pool — A Proud Tradition, A Promising Future.”

Many speakers were morning lap swimmers who urged the commission to maintain hours and availability.

“It’s important to keep the users that we have now,” said Duncan Watry. “You should try to keep the hours available for the pool as close to what they are now as possible.”

Watry said he had gathered the names of 35 regular lap swimmers.

Lisa Reynolds, the president of the Piedmont Swim Team board, said the team’s biggest concern for the future was an increase in usage fees for the team. She said the team is a nonprofit organization with full disclosure of its financial spreadsheet. She said she felt there was very little opportunity to raise fees for team members.

During the school year, the team has practices from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Last summer, the team added evening hours to allow elite swimmers a chance to work out twice a day, in the morning and evening. “We would like that to be considered,” Reynolds said.

Jackie Khor, a morning lap swimmer and the mother of two members of the swim team, said, “This could be a very symbiotic relationship for the city and the community.”

Khor said in case of any changes in availability, pool users are already checking other area pools for pricing and hours. She asked city authorities “to send a strong signal” to the base users of the pool of continuity of program.

Several commissioners gave assurances. Mark Delventhal, city recreation director, and Jeff Eorio, the city’s aquatics consultant, pronounced the philosophy of creating a “seamless transition” in management July 1 with relatively few changes for the first six months until the city is able to evaluate programs.

Delventhal said he had seen a letter in which the swim club stated that financial constraints might force a closure in June. Finding a way to forestall such a closure is “my number one priority,” Delventhal said. He said he has been having productive discussions with the club, concluding, “I would be surprised if there was a lock on that door any time.”

Eorio said July 1, a Friday, would be a day for staff training. There will be much staff continuity, he said — “a lot of the same faces and people will be working there.”

Summer swim lessons will be very similar to the program of the swim club, Eorio said.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Recreation Commission elected a new chairperson, Dick Hunt, and vice chairperson, Nick Levinson.