Council interested in getting Centennial Pool reopened
Closure means that pool has to meet ADA requirements before reopening
Centennial Park
The Paso Robles City Council is working on reopening Centennial Pool on Nickerson Drive. At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, city staff presented a report about what would be needed to have the pool reopened and operational by this spring or summer.
The answer to that is more than half a million dollars.
Paso Robles Library and Recreation Services Director Julie Dahlen said, the estimated costs include $213,480 to open the pool for this coming season and $290,000 in deferred maintenance. The estimate does not include the costs for required American with Disabilities Act modifications. In 2013, the city spent $13,816 to keep the pool in a non-operational condition. Because the pool has been closed, reopening it would trigger the need to comply with current ADA requirements.
The City’s Municipal Pool near Flamson Middle School also needs to be up to the standards. But because it has remained operational, City Manager Jim App said, having a plan in place for the modifications is sufficient.
Mayor Steve Martin said he’s not comfortable opening Centennial Pool without the ADA modifications completed because it opens the city up to being sued, which, he said, has happened in the past for its sidewalks not being ADA compliant. The pool was closed in 2011 when the city council voted 3-2 to implement a variety of cost-cutting measures. It was projected that the pool’s closure would save the city $112,000 year. In the four years that it has been closed, the city has saved $448,000.
Dahlen said that if a decision is made soon, staff will have enough time to hire and train pool employees and get the information in the city’s activity guide. However, the council deferred a decision to its March 21 goal-setting meeting so it can have more information, such as a proposed plan and time schedule, in front of them.
“It’ll be very difficult to make a decision without facts and figures,” Mayor Pro Tem Fred Strong said.
Councilman John Hamon Jr. asked if the operation of Centennial Pool has been included in the budget. App said that it has not and if the council decides to go ahead with it for the coming summer, the funds would come from the city’s reserves, which is already being dipped into.
Councilman Jim Reed said that getting the pool ADA compliant for the coming swimming season is “doable.”
“We don’t need to make these things in big, huge monstrosity things,” Reed said. “The only thing that would keep this pool from being open by June would be … slapping a whole bunch of requirements on it.”
Paso Robles resident Kathy Barnett took exception to Reed’s comments.
“I don’t disapprove of reopening Centennial [Pool], but I object to this process,” Barnett said. “I object, Mr. Reed, that ADA is so easy. I don’t believe it’s as simple as you seem to think will be.”
Parks and Rec Advisory Chairman Chris Taranto said that the entire board is in favor of reopening the pool and has put it as a goal.
“We would like to see this pool reopened, but it comes down to what sounds like a very high price tag. … with the pool being closed as long as it has, it’s not a surprise that things have gone into disrepair. I see this as an opportunity to fix it and fix it right and not just slap band aids on it,” Taranto said. “I think it would be the most responsible thing to do is to make sure we’re reviewing all the little things [that go into it].”
Martin acknowledged that there is a tremendous amount of interest from the community to reopen the pool and he promised that, as mayor, he would help with any fundraising efforts to help with the costs of getting the pool reopened.
“I don’t think that would be the right thing to do [to take money out of reserves],” Martin said. “If we’re going to do this, and people want us to do this, we need to do this right.”
The council voted 5-0 to receive and file the report and for staff to present a proposed plan for improvements and ADA for both pools at the council’s goal setting meeting.
Centennial swimming pool should be opened, bu it was obvious from the report from the city, that the city does not want to open this pool because of the cost.
I think that a deeper evaluation of ADA requirements and costs will show that savings can be made from reported amounts. For example, the report includes making the staff restroom at the pool ADA compliant. They don't need a staff restroom at all when the regular restroom which has to be ADA compliant is 10 feet away. Why waste the money on a staff restroom?
For some reason, Kathy Barnett (city advocate?) attacked the only person on the council who is disabled and knows ADA requirements personally– on his knowledge of ADA. (That's like having a white person attack a black person saying that the black person doesn't know about black issues). Then she attacked Steve Gregory for bringing up this issue at all, and making the city staff work too hard on the report when the city is short staffed. What???? Who is the city staff supposed to be working for–Bakersfield?
John Hamon, Steve Gregory, and Jim Reed all promised to work on reopening the pool when they ran for city council. They are all doing what they promised the taxpayers they would do. They should be commended. In fact, no one on the council is against opening the pool if they can finance it, make the repairs, and meet ADA requirements.
Then, Barnett said that the youth in Paso should be collecting money for opening the pool, that it would show them that you have to work for what you get. I personally do not like the idea of sending out grade school kids to what?–solicit money door to door. This was the craziest idea that I've heard at a City Council meeting.
This meeting was only the start. City Manager Jim App says there is no money to reopen the pool, but the city is selling a piece of property for which the city will receive over a million dollars, and that money will go to the general fund. Why can't part of the money be used for the pool? Jim App will need to explain the budget details to the public because we do not know what has been expended, committed or encumbered.
Currently there are no swimming lessons at Paulding Middle School and the YMCA summer program has no swimming as it did in the past. Centennial Pool offered a place for kids to swim, take swimming lessons, and socialize. Many could walk to the pool while their parents were at work. Now we have kids in Paso who don't learn to swim, and in the summer, they stay home and play video games. They have no way to get to the Municipal Pool.
The longer the pool is closed, the more expensive it will be to open it. Let's support the city council in examining the opening of the pool.
Centennial swimming pool should be opened, bu it was obvious from the report from the city, that the city does not want to open this pool because of the cost.
I think that a deeper evaluation of ADA requirements and costs will show that savings can be made from reported amounts. For example, the report includes making the staff restroom at the pool ADA compliant. They don't need a staff restroom at all when the regular restroom which has to be ADA compliant is 10 feet away. Why waste the money on a staff restroom?
For some reason, Kathy Barnett (city advocate?) attacked the only person on the council who is disabled and knows ADA requirements personally– on his knowledge of ADA. (That's like having a white person attack a black person saying that the black person doesn't know about black issues). Then she attacked Steve Gregory for bringing up this issue at all, and making the city staff work too hard on the report when the city is short staffed. What???? Who is the city staff supposed to be working for–Bakersfield?
John Hamon, Steve Gregory, and Jim Reed all promised to work on reopening the pool when they ran for city council. They are all doing what they promised the taxpayers they would do. They should be commended. In fact, no one on the council is against opening the pool if they can finance it, make the repairs, and meet ADA requirements.
Then, Barnett said that the youth in Paso should be collecting money for opening the pool, that it would show them that you have to work for what you get. I personally do not like the idea of sending out grade school kids to what?–solicit money door to door. This was the craziest idea that I've heard at a City Council meeting.
This meeting was only the start. City Manager Jim App says there is no money to reopen the pool, but the city is selling a piece of property for which the city will receive over a million dollars, and that money will go to the general fund. Why can't part of the money be used for the pool? Jim App will need to explain the budget details to the public because we do not know what has been expended, committed or encumbered.
Currently there are no swimming lessons at Paulding Middle School and the YMCA summer program has no swimming as it did in the past. Centennial Pool offered a place for kids to swim, take swimming lessons, and socialize. Many could walk to the pool while their parents were at work. Now we have kids in Paso who don't learn to swim, and in the summer, they stay home and play video games. They have no way to get to the Municipal Pool.
The longer the pool is closed, the more expensive it will be to open it. Let's support the city council in examining the opening of the pool.