EDITOR: The purpose of this letter is twofold, one, to respond
to Mark Grzan
’s Opinion page piece of Feb. 11 about how the “Aquatics Center
meets wants of self-interests at expense of others” and, two, to
offer my continued support of Mayor Dennis Kennedy and council
members Larry Carr and Greg Sellers in their mission to see that
the Aquatic Center becomes a reality
for our community.
EDITOR:
The purpose of this letter is twofold, one, to respond to Mark Grzan’s Opinion page piece of Feb. 11 about how the “Aquatics Center meets wants of self-interests at expense of others” and, two, to offer my continued support of Mayor Dennis Kennedy and council members Larry Carr and Greg Sellers in their mission to see that the Aquatic Center becomes a reality for our community.
About the only thing I can agree with in Mr. Grzan’s column is the following sentence, taken from the first paragraph: “The purpose of the aquatics center is to serve the 35,000 men, women and children of this community.”
There seems to be a consensus from the general population, that Morgan Hill does not need another pool. After all, we have the newly renovated Live Oak High School pool and the ever-so-modern facility at Britton. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
As an avid master’s swimmer and water polo player, I find myself driving to San Jose almost daily to work out or find pool time that is compatible with a family and work schedule. Currently, there is only one facility in Morgan Hill being utilized for adult lap swimming.
Live Oak High school is available between the hours of 5-7 a.m., Monday through Friday. Explain to me how this schedule is “serving the community”. These hours are simply not compatible for most of us who commute out of Morgan Hill to work each day, or who are preparing children for school.
The available time slot for adults is determined by the amount of usage and the school district. The balance of the time is shared between high school water polo and swim teams and after school age group swimming programs. My wife and I are simply tired of commuting to San Jose to find available lap swimming time.
Will a new facility alleviate this problem? In my opinion it will. As in most cities, i.e. Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Jose, etc. there are facilities available at almost any hour for people who like to lap swim. In addition, these facilities also cater to scuba diving programs, water aerobics, underwater hockey, water polo, synchronized swimming, diving, swim lessons and age-group swimming programs. All of which bring with them revenue and community support.
Mr. Grzan seems to think that the aquatic facility will suit the needs of only “the few who play, for example, competitive water polo”. Where did that information come from? I believe there is a lack of an understanding of what an aquatic facility can provide to a community.
The City of Morgan Hill lacks basic recreational facilities, especially for the youth. With the recent closures of the bowling alley and billiards, there is virtually no recreation or activities for the youth. An aquatic facility can provide many different activities to fill this void for both youth and seniors.
Mr. Grzan also seems to feel that the new aquatic facility should be able to compete with facilities such as Raging Waters. This was never the intent, nor the desired design. Raging Waters is not a facility that operates all year long, nor is it available for anything other than play. There is no comparison.
Mr. Grzan would also deny the use of our aquatic facility to residents of other communities, simply because they did not “contribute a dime” to building it. Sounds kind of like an “elitist” point of view to me. Outside use by many sources and individuals outside of the City of Morgan Hill will provide substantial revenue to the support of the pool and the community. Mr. Grzan also does not seem to be interested in “filling our hotels with out-of-town visitors”. Who should be using all of the hotels and fast food restaurants in Morgan Hill? Perhaps we should just post a sign at the entrance to the city stating, “No Visitors Allowed”.
Mr. Grzan also seems to be under the impression that “the aquatics center in its present design is best suited for private enterprise”. I don’t know of any municipal or aquatic facilities that are operated privately.
Last, but certainly not least, I take exception to being classified as “the few and the elite” simply because the type of exercise I choose requires a pool. The same analogy can be used to describe any form of exercise or activity.
There is a large contingency of Morgan Hill residents who support this facility. The “Build it and they will come” scenario is real. Don’t build it, and they simply won’t come at all, or will leave to find it elsewhere, is the other side of the coin.
Gary Krage,
Morgan Hill
