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Parks officials endorse pool project plans
By Sam Scott
Sunnyvale parks and recreation officials on March 22 recommended the city build a 50-meter pool at Fremont High School in partnership with the Fremont Union High School District.
The Parks and Recreation commission's recommendation is an advisory only. But the endorsement represented a victory for the pool's proponents. The City Council will vote on the matter at its May 2 meeting.
The school district plans to build a new pool at Fremont High with or without a city partnership. However, without the city's assistance, the district plans a 30-meter pool, aimed primarily at school needs. With city assistance, the district would build a publicly accessible Olympic-sized pool, complete with separate locker rooms for the public.
Commissioner Pete Contostavlos called the proposed partnership a rare chance to build a needed facility at reduced cost. The district and city would share the facility's operating and capital costs.
"When else are we as a city going to have the opportunity to build a world-class facility at half the cost?" he said. "It's a fantastic opportunity."
Other commissioners touted the pool's possible community benefits, including increased civic pride and expanded opportunities for local swimmers. Officials acknowledged that the needs of the community's adult swimmers are often ignored.
Parks Commission chairman Ron Swegles, the lone dissenter in the commission's 4-1 vote, said even at half-price, the pool represented too large a financial obstacle. Officials estimated the city's share of capital costs at $1.4 million and its portion of operating costs at $135,000 per year. Swegles said he recognized the community benefits of the pool, but could not justify the cost.
The vote delighted the members of the Friends of the Fremont Pool, a group advocating the pool's construction.
"I'm very, very happy," said Holly Lofgren, who heads the group. Lofgren has been doggedly trying to improve the city's swim facilities for six years. She sees this as the last, best chance for the city to improve its facilities.
Carrying blue pennants and wearing blue pins, pool supporters lined up to speak before the commission. Many commented on the state of the city's existing facilities. The city's only pool, at Washington Park, is open only six months a year and is poorly shaped for lap swimming. Partnerships with four schools in the Sunnyvale School District provide short periods of swimming, but facilities apparently are crowded and do not satisfy people with irregular schedules.
"The pools in Sunnyvale are lousy," said Steven O'Neal, a lifelong Sunnyvale resident. O'Neal said he swims more than 20 times a month, but rarely uses Sunnyvale facilities.
Lofgren said it was unfair to expect Sunnyvale school district to fulfill the needs of an entire city's swim needs in its spare time.
Others mentioned the community benefit of having a pool where families can go, Olympians can train, and large competitions can be held.
With the commission vote behind them, the pool supporters said they now will focus on fundraising. To appease a council leery of costs, the group agreed to raise $1 million to defray the pool's operating expenses.
Parks and recreation director Robert Walker has said that if the Friends of the Fremont Pool fail to reach their goal, he would recommend not building the pool, despite what he acknowledges as the pool's considerable community benefit. Lofgren said the group has raised about $100,000.
City attorney Valerie Armento said pool supporters have been in a Catch-22 situation. They could raise money more effectively if they had more explicit support from the city, she said, but the city won't give them that support until they raise the money.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
