Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
Cover Story
Twelve-year-old Robbie Taylor does a reverse dive during the diving exhibition for the grand opening of the Fremont High School pool on June 26. The First Lap The dream of the Fremont Pool is finally a reality By Scott Steinberg Sunnyvale opened its newest pool June 26 - the culmination of a project that had arisen from one citizen's determination and resulted in a partnership between the city council and the school district. But like the distance from one end of this pool to the other, it was a long way from there to here for Sunnyvale. The Olympic-sized pool at Fremont High School brought out the best and worst in the city. One city official, quoting Otto von Bismarck, the first German chancellor, said it best - "People will sleep better not knowing how their sausage and politics are made." Many agreed that the political process had been an ugly one, but the payoff was sweeter than taffy. And the facilities sparkled last Wednesday like any $3,235,264 diamond would. "For me, this is like having a baby," said Holly Lofgren, director of Friends of the Fremont Pool, a nonprofit organization of swimmers-cum-fundraisers. "This involved lots of pain and lots of joy. Today is all about that joy." Lofgren is credited as being the reason the Olympic-size pool was built. She is an avid lap swimmer and had been frustrated with Sunnyvale's swimming options, especially Washington Park Pool. Built in 1952 and shaped like a rhomboid, it bothers any moderately skilled swimmer in need of distance and straight lines. 
Mayor Fred Fowler and Holly Lofgren, head of the Friends of the Fremont Pool, take an involuntary dip during the grand opening of the new facility. In 1998 the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) passed a bond measure to build a 30-meter pool. Lofgren asked the city council to form a partnership with the high school, split construction costs and build an Olympic-size, 50-meter pool. "It was a brilliant idea," said Chris Moylan, a planning commissioner and former lifeguard. "One sign of a great idea is that as soon as you hear it, you know it has to happen. You say, 'Of course.' And with this, I said, 'Of course.' " But Lofgren had to face off with an intractable city staff squarely opposed to pool. The council defied staff recommendation and narrowly approved the pool by a 4-to-3 margin. Moylan said that council members showed wisdom in their thinking but added that it was Lofgren's achievement that was unprecedented. "This is an inspiring tale of what one person can do," he said. "Holly quit her job to start Friends of Fremont. It takes a full-time commitment like that. She is personally responsible for this pool and the partnership between the city and the school district." Last month a good thing turned bad for Lofgren. The council approved a controversial contract with the California Sports Center (CSC). In the contract, CSC and the city staff approved what Lofgren called "new" rates. During the process, she said she believed the staff was adjusting previously fixed fees, and she stopped just short of accusing the council of betrayal and disenfranchisement. "Citizens will never give money to the city again ..." she said. But Lofgren is now loathe to talk about the low points. "What could be better than swimming in June?" she recently said. She was enthusiastic about the opening celebration, adding, "People worked really hard on this, and that's all that matters now." The Santa Clara Aquamaids, a nationally recognized synchronized swimming team, performed a skill demonstration at the opening, as did the Santa Clara diving team and the Sunnyvale Swim Club. The city staff obliterated the competition in a relay race, and longtime pool supporters Mayor Fred Fowler and Vice Mayor Julia Miller were on hand to christen the pool. Fowler said that the pool opening was "a day that's been long in coming." Miller, who called herself a "unique supporter" of the pool, added, "This creates a sense of place in Sunnyvale." However, for other present council members, such as Pat Vorreiter and Manny Valerio, feelings about the pool were more complex. Vorreiter said that she had been concerned about the financial challenges involved in pool upkeep. Both Vorreiter and Valerio voted against the pool in that narrow 4-3 margin in the spring of 1999 but approved the pool a year later. But it came to a point where it wasn't too hard to be a believer, with Lofgren promising the council $1 million. She made a believer out of Robert Walker, director of the department of parks and recreation. He had said that the viability of the project hinged upon that $1 million. Lofgren began raising money in January 2000. On opening day, Friends of Fremont closed the fundraising drive. "It's proper that a campaign has a starting point and an ending point," Lofgren said. And in the end, donations exceeded $800,000. Is it a problem that the group fell 20 percent shy of an explicit promise to the council? Walker said absolutely not. "When the council authorized this project, it was with the understanding that Friends of the Fremont Pool would try to raise what they could," Walker said. "One of the things Holly told us when we started was that she was good for this for the long haul. She has worked as hard as she possibly could, and I imagine she will continue to. They hit $800,000. The city understands how difficult that was, and they appreciate that." 
Members of the Sunnyvale Swim Club swim flags across the pool as the national anthem is sung at the grand opening of the Fremont High School pool on June 26. However, Moylan does not understand why Friends of the Fremont Pool gave the money to the city. As a nonprofit, Friends of the Fremont Pool had the ability to put the money in higher-risk investments in order to yield more interest. "The city's hands are tied," Moylan said. "They have to put the money in a low-risk investment. And now that the city has the money, Friends of Fremont has no leverage." Has Friends lost its leverage, if in fact it ever had any? Lofgren wanted to create a pool for all of Sunnyvale - lap swimmers, families, athletes, students. What has come of that dream? For one, the rates are too high to allow wide public use, Friends have recently argued. The city staff counters that they set fees according to the "market rate." The Haines International Swimming Center in Santa Clara has an Olympic-size pool. A drop-in visitor must pay $3.75 to use the facilities. A drop-in visitor at the Fremont pool will pay $5. The difference may be small at the individual level, but what happens when swimmers are purchasing annual passes for $500? 
Fifteen-year-old Ashley Potoc does a backflip in the diving exhibition for the grand opening of the Fremont High School pool. David Peterson, director of CPC, acknowledged that there were individuals who protested the rates. "But they must understand that these fares were passed by and dictated by the council," he explained. "They were recommended by the council according to the market rate structure. We are not free to raise or lower them. ... We intend to support the city with first-rate programs. Great service, in the end, will sell itself." It's not, perhaps, the family pool that Friends of Fremont envisioned and described. "During the summer it will be totally open to the public," Lofgren had said. "We should be able to swim in our city." Peterson is not certain that CPC can completely serve everybody. "I don't know if that's possible," he said. "But we look forward to continued public input. I invite everyone and everybody to check it out." Some say the public will merely be lining CPC pockets. CPC will owe the city $176,000 during the five-year contract in order to manage the 28,000-square-foot bath house and direct the swimming programs. City staff argue that the rates would be identical if the city ran the pool, which leads one resident to speculate on the city's motive for hiring a private contractor to manage the site. "The city passed the contract off to a private company because they never wanted anything to do with the pool," the individual said. Despite dueling perspectives, all sides agreed to a happy reprieve at the opening ceremonies. "It feels good for everyone to be closing the construction and the policy-setting stage of this," Walker said. "Highly visible public projects are very tricky. But we all saw this through, and that makes the fruit all that much sweeter." Members of the Sunnyvale Swim Club swim flags across the pool as the national anthem is sung at the grand opening of the Fremont High School pool on June 26. Fifteen-year-old Ashley Potoc does a backflip in the diving exhibition for the grand opening of the Fremont High School pool. |
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