Monday, July 30, 2007

A Busy Night for the City Fathers/Mothers

‘Hot fun in the Summertime’ was never like this.

The City Council is in for a long and interesting work-session this evening. On top of their regularly scheduled meeting, they’ll be hosting a public forum session at the Pueblo Convention center. The purpose of this special session is to explain their position on the proposed agreement with the YMCA and to collect information from the general public relating to that matter. The public forum session starts at 6 pm tonight.

There are some concerns about the forum’s format.

There are reports that the public forum will last ONLY one hour. That a good portion of this time, even up to half or more, will be taken up as the city and the representative of the YMCA explain their position and why they think it is a great idea for Pueblo. Then, it is reported, that there will be a 10 minute recess, while questions are collected from the citizens attending. After this the representatives from the city and the YMCA will answer as many of those questions as time permits.

That leaves only about 10-15 minutes for the questions to be answered. Say, 2-3 minutes to have the question asked and an answer provided. That’s only about 5-7 questions, if the reports on the format for this meeting are correct.

That doesn’t seem like much time to assuage concerns of the citizens over $2 million in public revenues that the city is talking about spending. Especially in light of the fact that the city can’t maintain recreational facilities it already has.

UPDATE The 6 PM Meeting Can Go Longer [301605 Jul 07]: Good news. According to a comment from a staff member at the Pueblo Chieftain, there will be no meeting of the City Council at 7 pm. This allows for more time to do Question and Answer during the 6 PM meeting at the Pueblo Convention Center.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

The YMCA/City Pool Management Agreement

An idea that could be ‘all wet’.

The City of Pueblo is planning to enter into an agreement that will turn over the management of your city pools to the YMCA.

It is not known what the City’s rational is behind this agreement other than the fact they starting to turn over the management of other recreation properties and this just might be another case of the City failing to meet their responsibility to protect, maintain, and manage our parks and recreation facilities. In this case they are claiming the people of Pueblo will be getting better services but not saving money. In fact, according to the agreement the cost of doing major repairs, major pool preparation to open the pool s so they are in a safe and functioning capacity at the four City pools will be the cities responsibility in addition to paying any and all operating deficits.

It appears that will be no cost savings and in reality it looks like it will cost the City more to have the YMCA manage the pools. As of this time the primary reason for considering the YMCA for managing the swim pools is that the YMCA claims they can offer more and better services. There are a couple very good reasons why the YMCA is not in a position to accomplish what is being promised at the same cost/budget as the City Recreation Department has had to operate under.

The Rec. Dept. is in a position to offer more and better services than the YMCA can because they have the people, the knowledge, and the experience that the YMCA does not have. All the Rec. Dept. needs is a level playing field and given the same dollars the City is planning to give to the YMCA. At this time the YMCA does not have more than(this is giving them the benefit of the doubt) 5 people directly involved in the operation and management of their one small swim pool. Of these five people most if not all are employed on a part time basis. The YMCA has acknowledged that the new Aquatic center(when and if it’s built) will require at least 3 to 4 times their present staff.

The majority of the people that operate and manage the swimming pools for the Rec. Dept. are high school and college students(around 120) and during this season a first year guard is paid $8.00/hr. and a pool manager $10.50/hr.. These pay rates are based on the fact that the average pay for first year guard is $9.00/ hr. in the State of Colorado. It must be remembered that these young people must have many years of swimming experience, must be in top physical condition, and go through a rigorous Red Cross Certification program to become life guards. The YMCA presently offers first year guards minimum wage. If the City and the YMCA believe the way to save money is by paying lower wages, shame on them. Those young people desire every penny they are now earning. Think about that! The availability of these young people is one of the controlling factors that determine the length summer swimming season. For the YMCA to become even remotely able to operate and manage the pools they must be in a position to hire this group of young people. The YMCA claims they will extend the number of days the pool will open and the time the pools will be open during the day. This is one of the primary considerations indicated by City for the YMCA taking over management of the pools, yet there is nothing in the agreement that sets minimum goals nor stating penalties for not meeting goals.

Something to take into consideration; What if the YMCA’s management does not meet the expectations of City and the people, will the City be able to take over managing the pools? The agreement is for ten years, what happens then? Could the City take over or is the YMCA going to be in total control of the operations because the City has no where else to go? The City must protect, maintain, and manage our parks and recreation facilities especially when there only one source for a service.

It could be a disastrous trap!

Pueblo Swimming Community Suggests Changes to YMCA Aquatics Plan

Some of Pueblo’s ‘swimmers’ think the City is swimming against the current.

With the city of Pueblo willing to contribute two million dollars towards a new aquatic center, and the county offering a matching amount for a new YMCA, there is a wonderful opportunity to work towards a facility that would meet a number of current and future needs. The inventory of outdoor city and indoor high school pools is aging, and will soon require replacements, renovations, or retirements. The elimination of swimming proficiency requirements by public schools has shifted this need elsewhere. Pueblo West’s thriving high school teams do not have a pool home. They are itinerant swimmers and divers who never enjoy a home meet. On a grander scale, Colorado has few sites that can accommodate a large aquatic event such as a state swim meet. And the overall physical health of Americans continues to decline. Youth are increasingly affected. We now have an epidemic of childhood obesity, with the US Government Accountability Office estimating that almost 20% of children 6 to 11 years old are significantly overweight.

Unfortunately, the current YMCA plan for aquatics falls well short of meeting these needs. Community aquatic centers usually incorporate a multi-use design that maximizes utilization and revenue, and accommodates the sports of diving and swimming, including competition. Some even include water polo or synchronized swimming. The YMCA’s unusual plan would allow for water play, therapy, swim lessons, and initially very limited lap swimming, but no sports. As it now stands, the city proposes to gift two million dollars for a facility that provides a nice indoor water park, but otherwise falls short of even equaling the functionality of most of our existing pools. We are happy to see a new YMCA built. As long as the YMCA’s plans did not involve public funds, and they could accept the effect their paradigm had on support and fund-raising, it was the YMCA’s concern alone. Now that they desire to obtain public money, we feel their plan should better address Pueblo’s needs.

Aquatics are just one answer to the need for exercise and social activity that leads to improved physical and mental health, but swimming, in particular, is an excellent answer. It is uniquely accessible to all ages, including seniors and even the infirm. FINA, the international governing body for swimming, maintains world records for masters swimmers over age 100.

It’s fair to ask why competitive swimming is important. It is a bridge between swim lessons and adult fitness. Not many kids will swim laps to stay healthy, but they will exercise if mistaken for fun. Very few swimmers are obese. Age group and college swimmers’ body fat averages about half that of comparably aged controls, and there is a similar trend among masters swimmers. Sports are a laboratory for life, providing lessons and tools such as goal setting, self-discipline, delayed gratification, teamwork, self-confidence, perseverance, time management and commitment. A competitive swim team is the most visible aspect of a comprehensive aquatics program, the tip of the iceberg that’s easily seen and invites outsiders to look more closely. It provides evidence that something is going on. Without it, you forfeit a banner. Participation on a team provides progressive mentoring of various abilities from those more skilled and from coaches. The present Pueblo YMCA facility plan would not allow for these benefits.

This starkly contrasts with the YMCA nationally. Quoting from YMCA of the USA National Swimming and Diving, “Ever since YMCAs began offering competitive swimming and diving in the early 1920’s, these sports have proved to be excellent opportunities for putting into action the YMCA mission. Over 1,000 YMCAs offer competitive swimming or diving, with over 50,000 youth participating. Over 1,400 YMCA swimmers annually compete at the YMCA National Championships, making it the largest youth swim meet in the country. YMCA Competitive Swimming and Diving programs are for the beginning swimmer to the most competitive, and help train individuals of all ages to compete in League, State, Area, and National Championships.” While this may not be a mandate for our YMCA to actually sponsor a local team, it would be appropriate for their facility to accommodate the sport, particularly if it’s built with public money.

As funds are available, the current YMCA plan is to build a moderate-size lap pool. Our recommendation and request is a redesign that broadens, balances and maximizes utilization, including competitive swimming and diving, at least a facility that could accommodate a regional high school or age group meet. We recommend that a plan for a complete aquatic center that can be used for competition as well as recreation, and that would draw guests to Pueblo, be part of the agreement between the city and YMCA.

Ideally, this would be done in concert with the eventual replacement of Mineral Palace pool to create a first-class aquatic center, including adequate seating and other support for events such as state high school and state age group meets. Such a pool could be configured as season and needs dictate. For example, it could be divided into 4 sections, each accommodating a different activity (such as open swimming, lap swimming, club or high school practices, diving, and swim lessons). Additional funding could include a lottery grant, schools that would otherwise have to extensively renovate existing pools or build new ones, and CDOT in lieu of their planned replacement of Mineral Palace pool. We’d be happy to see this done in concert with the YMCA, though it could be a city property run by the YMCA, or even completely independent from the YMCA.

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Saturday, July 14, 2007

Preserving Our History

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. (Paraphrase of some famous quote by a famous person.)

The City of Pueblo will soon be considering landmarking two new historic districts, one around Rosemount and the other just north of Parkview Medical Center.

Both districts are the result of an Historic Architecture Survey undertaken by Historitecture, LLC. Most of the documents developed by them are available on their web site. The study itself, with maps of the proposed districts can be found on the City of Pueblo’s web site. Details about historic districts which are landmarked by the City can be found at the Historic Preservation Commission’s web site, including a copy of the ordinance.

A team from the Old Historic Northside Organization, Inc., the neighborhood association which includes the historic districts, is going door-to-door with information about historic districts. The literature includes a pros and cons sheet and a frequently asked questions sheet.

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