Swim club will pay $1,000 weekly to keep Britton Middle school
pool open until November
The Britton Middle School pool will definitely close in November and be demolished soon after, ending years of YMCA classes and recreational swimming by residents seeking refuge on hot days. The district had considered closing the pool in August.
However, the Morgan Hill School Board voted Monday night to allow the Morgan Hill Swim Club to use the pool for training until November, delaying the closure for an additional 10 to 12 weeks. There was also a glimmer of hope that the city might be able to afford funds to keep the pool going long enough for the district to find renovation money.
The cost of short-term repairs were estimated at $9,110. Long-term repairs would cost $469,000, trustees were told.
The swim club offered a weekly use fee of $1,000, which was accepted by the board. A check for the first payment has already been received by the district, said Bonnie Branco, deputy superintendent for business services.
The request came in a letter from John Rick, representing the swim club, the Makos. Rick pointed out that, though the Live Oak pool is closed at least until 7:30 p.m. on school nights to community swim groups during the high school water polo season, the clubs’ need for a pool continues. He also mentioned that the Britton water polo team would have no place to practice either if the Britton pool closed in June. He referred to the fall season as “key training season.”
“On the bright side,” he wrote, “by next year at this time, the city’s aquatic center should be operational and able to relieve the overflow pressure from the … community.” The aquatics center is scheduled to open after Memorial Day 2004, for the complete swim season.
Rick said the 200-300-member swim club has contributed money and equipment over its 40-year relationship with the district, $20,000 currently, and has produced more than 50 high school All-American swimmers for the school.
The aging pool has come to the attention of the county health department, which in May submitted a lengthy list of problems and required repairs to the pool’s infrastructure, plus safety issues.
According to the staff report, the inspector said “he is concerned with the pool in its present condition and the pool need to be remodeled or replaced as soon as possible.”
Branco said the pool’s aging condition makes maintenance difficult and expensive, costing $6,000-$8,000 a month for energy and water use, staffing and supplies.
Closing the pool, in the face of expensive renovation, was one way the board found to save money during its budget discussions.
Trustees heard a letter from parent Belinda Rianda about her concerns over the pool closing and its effect on YMCA swimming programs.
“Many of the children in the nearby low-income housing projects rely on being able to walk to the pool when the triple digit temperatures hit,” she wrote. “Getting across town to a new swim facility that hasn’t even broken ground yet would be hard for them. The Britton Y pool is the only public swimming access open on weekends for working parents in Gilroy or Morgan Hill,” Rianda wrote. She suggested covering the pool and waiting until money is found, either in a future district budget or from private donations.
The board also discussed reinstating six bus driver positions and budget modifications.
The matter was scheduled to be discussed this morning by the City/School District Liaison Committee.
AQUATIC EVENTS
Groundbreaking for the aquatics center will take place Thursday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m. at the site, Condit Road, south of the soccer fields and north of Tennant Avenue. The aquatics community will host a fundraiser – Cool Brews for Cool Pools – for the center’s operations fund on Saturday, Aug. 23 at the community center, 17000 Monterey Road. The event will not only entertain adults with selections of microbrews and local wines, but also entertain children with a feast of activities.
