Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the Rainier Beach community and swimmers to the third and final meeting for the new Rainier Beach Community Center and Pool. The meeting is Tuesday, November 17, 2009 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Rainier Beach Community Center located at 8825 Rainier Ave. S.

At this meeting, Parks staff, A•R•C Architects and Counsilman Hunsker aquatic designers will present the refined schematic designs for the project, answer community questions and ask for final community input.  The concept designs were developed with valuable input from citizens.  Parks hopes to have the same quality participation at this last meeting to finalize the original ideas and create a fabulous facility for the community and swimmers. 

Please join in a concept design meeting for the new Rainier Beach Community Center & Pool on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at Rainier Beach Community Center. 
 
This is a great opportunity to tell us what is important for you to have in your community and aquatic center. 
 
Please come and participate in shaping this facility. 
 
Best,
Karen O’Connor
Seattle Parks and Recreation
(206) 233-7929 fax: (206) 233-3949

In honor of election day, we thought it might be helpful to daylight candidates’ positive efforts in support of public pools.

David Miller:  As part of the committee that shaped the 2008 Parks Levy, David tried to make it possible for aquatics planning to be eligible for funding through the levy’s "Opportunity Fund."  After the committee nixed the idea of funding pool planning or improvements directly, David contacted us with his "Opportunity Fund" idea and advocated for it on the committee.  Unfortunately, changes to the Opportunity Fund’s guidelines did not pass the full committee.  Project Seattle Pools appreciated his initiative and his advocacy.

Mike McGinn:  Mike spent a very long evening last summer helping Project Seattle Pools create a strategic plan to target our advocacy efforts.  He lent his many years of experience in community advocacy as a thoughtful mentor.

Councilmember Richard Conlin: During the summer 2008 budget deliberations, we appreciated Councilmember Conlin’s support.  He would have supported funding aquatics planning in the 2009/10 budget if the appropriate green sheet had been brought to a vote.  Furthermore, Councilmember Conlin’s staff patiently provided guidance to Project Seattle Pools when we were learning how to navigate the opaque levy and budget processes.  Even though time was tight, his staff made time to help us understand how things worked.

Councilmember Nick Licata:  During the summer of 2008, Councilmember Licata would also have supported aquatics planning if the appropriate green sheet had been brought to a vote, and if the money had come from a particular budget.

Disclaimer:  This information does not imply an endorsement of any particular candidate.  Pools are just one of many pressing issues and you’ll choose candidates based on the issues most important to you.  

Swimmers practiced their lifesaving techniques at the life guard stations and swam their hearts out in life jacket relays. The high-dive saw lots of action and the shallow end was bustling with family fun.   Giveaways included cloth grocery bags, rubber duckies, certificates for private swim lessons, and free passes to Meadowbrook swimming pool.

Thanks go to the Seattle Parks Department, which co-sponsored this event with Project Seattle Pools, and to QFC for the donation of cloth grocery bags.  Thanks also go to the many Project Seattle Pools volunteers who helped Parks organize and staff the event.

The reason given for both rejections was generic.  Both NE and SE teams received the standard rejection letter sent to all rejected applicants.  We are fairly confident that our grant was not rejected based on the merits of the argument or the quality of the proposals, but rather due to the political and economic climate. Thank you for your support of these proposals and your interest in accessible swimming for all. 

There is an opportunity to resubmit grant application every year, so pool supporters are welcome to use the materials we have prepared to submit future grants independently or in conjunction with Project Seattle Pools.  The materials submitted are available here.

• Tomorrow: Planning meeting for the Rainier Beach Pool replacement
  • Tuesday June 9, 2009. 6:30 - 8:30 at the Rainier Beach Community Center.
  • Organized by the Seattle Parks Department, which seeks to “learn about what is important in a community center and pool for this neighborhood.”  The Parks Dept is eager for community input. Details.
• August: Summer Splashtactulars
  • Saturday, August 8th at both Meadowbrook (1:30-3:00) and Rainier Beach Pools (time TBD). [Updated 6/8/09: Time corrected.]
  • FREE admission.  Lots of fun, pool games and prizes.  Info on water safety will be available too.
  • Events are sponsored by both Seattle Parks and Project Seattle Pools.
  • Email Christine@seattlepools.org if you would like to help with either event.

Other updates:

• NE and SE pool planning grant applications submitted
  • Kudos to Christine, Aimee, Yvette and Melanie for their tireless work in submitting Neighborhood Matching Fund Grant Applications.  Details.
  • We expect to be notified of the City’s decisions on these applications by mid-July.  If awarded the grant, work to hire an urban planning consultant would begin early fall.  Public Planning Meetings would be held during the winter/spring of 2009-2010.
• Pool closures looming
  • Many pools in our region are threatened by tight budgets and overdue maintenance.  We’re tracking the list of pools here.
  • In Seattle, supporters of the UW’s Hec Ed Pool seek your support in signing a petition to keep this pool open.

Rainier Beach pool is reaching the limit of its useful life, so Parks plans to replace it when funds become available.  According to Parks, "The design team with ARC Architects in the lead will be running the meeting beginning at 6:30. The pool designer is from California and will be part of the meeting as well." 

When: Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 6:30 – 8:30pm

Where:  Rainier Beach Community Center
8825 Rainier Ave S
Seattle, WA 98118-4928

Contact:  david.graves@seattle.gov

Dear Friend:

As you know, the University of Washington Men’s and Women’s Swim Teams have been cut.  While there is a push to self-fund the swim teams, one possible unintended consequence of the current decision would be to close the Hec Edmondson Pavilion pool.  This closure would ruin at least three more UW associated teams that use the pool (not counting the numerous high school swim meets and that occur there).  Men’s and Women’s Club Water Polo and Husky Masters Swimming use the facility year round and due to size restrictions, the IMA pool is not an alternative.

Please support us to keep the Hed Ed Pool open by signing the below online petition.  We will be sending the signatures to the UW athletic department in the coming weeks.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/HecEdPool

Thank you for your support!

We’re keeping a running list of endangered pools and programs here so that you can keep tabs on pool concerns near you.  New:

• Mount Rainier Pool (Auburn) has been added to the "endangered" list.
• Some public wading pools in Seattle will be closed this summer to allow for updates necessary to comply with a new safety law.

His service as an Army paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division cost Cyril Miller two good knees. A couple of hundred rough landings can do that.

"I was a paratrooper; that’s all you need to hear," said Miller, 71, who lives in West Seattle.

Miller, like some other local veterans, relies on Evergreen Pool in White Center and its weekly rehabilitation classes to feel better. Since leaving the Army about five decades ago, Miller has had both knees replaced, was diagnosed with diabetes and underwent six years of dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant in 2007.

But soon the county budget will cost him, too.

After June 30, Evergreen Pool, owned and operated by King County, will be shut down. That’s because it’s among the "lifeboat" of services funded for only half of the year due to the county’s budget problems. … read more>>

More info on pool closures in the Seattle area is available here.

Thanks go to the many pool supporters who helped with our NMF application by pledging hours of volunteer time as matching contributions.  The grants are now under consideration by the City.

It is important to do planning like this even in lean economic times because public planning is a slow process.  Doing long-term planning now ensure we have well-thought-out and broadly supported plans at hand when better economic times return.  City Council Resolution R31073 recommends that the next Park capital levy address unmet swimming needs, so ready-to-go plans will be needed when that levy is composed.

Southeast NMF Application (.doc)

Friends of Pools in SE Seattle will hire a professional urban planner to work with Seattle Parks and the community to make site recommendations for a new outdoor pool in southeast Seattle, to assess the service capacity of existing indoor facilities serving residents in the southeast, and to suggest long-term financing options.

Northeast NMF Application (.pdf)  Northeast NMF Budget (.pdf)

Friends of Pools in NE Seattle will hire a professional urban planner to work with Seattle Parks and the community to make site recommendations for a new outdoor pool in northeast Seattle, to recommend enhancements to existing indoor facilities serving residents in the northeast, and to suggest long-term financing options.

See also: Letter of support for NE NMF from the Northeast District Council (.doc)