The Mt. Madonna YMCA’s summer water programs – Splash Camp,
swimming lessons, recreational swimming – are not in jeopardy this
summer, but the future beyond that is uncertain.
The Mt. Madonna YMCA’s summer water programs – Splash Camp, swimming lessons, recreational swimming – are not in jeopardy this summer, but the future beyond that is uncertain.
“I am very grateful, very happy, that they (the School District) were able to assure us that the Britton pool will not be closed this summer,” Tina Holloway, branch operations manager for Mt. Madonna said Monday. “They made that very clear … Now we need to get the word out. I believe a lot of people have not registered because they were uncertain whether or not the pool would be a part of our programs this year.”
The outdoor poolz at Britton Middle School are old. They were built when the campus was Live Oak High School.
According to an energy audit report prepared for the district, the pool is in need of major renovation, and the recommendation was to close the pool, as it forms no part of the middle school curriculum.
The recommendation, however, has not come before School Board trustees as an action item on an agenda.
The subject came up at the City/School District Liaison committee meeting Friday. Three YMCA representatives, including Holloway, attended the meeting and participated in discussions, along with School Board President Tom Kinoshita, Trustee Shelle Thomas, City Council members Larry Carr and Steve Tate, City Manager Ed Tewes, Police Chief Jerry Galvin and Superintendent Carolyn McKennan.
McKennan and Kinoshita said during discussion that the pool would remain open this summer.
“The board has not ever made any decision to close the Britton pool,” McKennan said Monday. The district has not taken steps to look into the cost of repairs, which, McKennan said, are obviously needed.
“Anyone can see, just by walking by, that the pool needs some work,” she said. “All of our facilities have a certain lifespan, and the pool is pretty well near the end.”
Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Branco said the operating costs for the pool are the only figures the district has at this time. During high use periods, such as the summer, the costs are approximately $11,000 per month, including at least $1,800 in labor, $92 for acid, $600 for chlorine, $210 for diatomite, $4,500 in electricity and $4,000 for gas.
During lighter use times, the costs are less, approximately $7,496, with chlorine costs of $100, $46 for acid and gas costs of $960.
Branco said the energy audit report mentioned the pool loses water over time.
“There is a belief that it leaks,” she said. “But we could lose, we are told, up to three inches a day due to evaporation. The pool is not covered. ”
Until costs for repair are determined, the future of the pool and the YMCA programs is up in the air.
The district is currently working on cutting approximately $3.4 million from the 2003-2004 budget, due to an estimated $1.5 million loss because of declining enrollment and an estimated $1.7 million shortfall due to education budget-slashing at the state level.
“We simply have no money,” McKennan said. “And if we look at the difference between funding something that is directly related to our students in the classroom versus this (repairing the pool), well, we have to think of our educational mission.”
According to YMCA figures, programs at the Britton pool serve approximately 5,700 are children per year, including 650 in swim lessons, 750 in daycare programs and 2,500 in open swim participants.
Mt. Madonna Administrative Manager Patty Reed said she is happy the pool will be available this summer, and that the YMCA and the district have some time to figure out a solution.
Mt. Madonna continues to accept reservations for its summer programs, Holloway said. For more information and to register,call 779-0208 or visit the website at www.scvymca.org.
