The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

Money would be best spent on improvements to pools

I read with great interest an article about the Adult Swim Advisory Group in your newspaper dated Oct. 23. It was titled "Four candidates back municipal pool study."

As chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, we have been working with the advisory group members for quite some time, and they have attended many of our meetings. I've been on the commission for a little more than two years, and during that time we have studied the situation in regard to the number, use and upkeep of the city pools. We have even been on a tour of all the city pools along with a representative of the advisory group. On this tour we found some of the pools in need of repair and upgrading. We also found that we have some underused pools. The cost of the study, in my opinion, could be better spent on existing pool improvements. And keep them open for more lap swimming.

The staff has already spent many hours looking at all possible ways to improve the situation and thinks that at this time we cannot afford to spend tax dollars on a new pool.

I also noticed that in your article you stated that on "July 29 the Adult Swim Advisory Group decided at that meeting to temporarily fund year-round usage of the Lakewood Pool for a period of two years."

As chairman I would like to correct that statement. The commission recommended approving the opening of the Lakewood Pool for adult lap swimming. And the City Council voted to support the program. The Adult Swim Advisory Group did give us input, and its members were in agreement that they would be willing to try expanded service at Lakewood. From all reports, the program seems to be doing quite well.

While Sunnyvale's leisure services department is always looking for supporters and would be happy to accept any donations, your article was misleading because the City Council is financially supporting the program, not the Adult Swim Advisory Group.

We have many programs that we would like to see funded, but we do go through a process each year and would enjoy input from any citizen who would like to give us information on any recreation programs they may have in mind. This year the commission rated the "new municipal pool study" very low on our priority list.

Ron Swegles
Parks and Recreation Commission

Noise is noise

A recent letter to the editor deserves some explanation of Sunnyvale's toothless noise ordinance. The daily roar of gas-powered leaf blowers might lead you to think there is no such law, but there is: it limits the daytime noise to 75 decibels--defined as the amount of noise produced by an "average factory."

So how can gardening equipment be allowed to inflict so much greater noise on us? Noise levels unsafe for human hearing? There is an explanation: Sunnyvale exempts "powered equipment" by classifying it as "single use." That use may occur 52 times each year when a gardening crew visits the home on your left; 52 more times across the street; 52 more at the home on your right; 52 more at the home behind yours, etc.

The Planning Commission is unmoved by such statistics despite its stated goal to "maintain or achieve acceptable limits for the levels of noise generated by land-use operations and single events."

Perhaps our City Council will note the declining quality of life in Sunnyvale and provide relief from the daily intrusion of "single-event" noise.

James E. Lincoln
Sunnyvale

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The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper