HomeMy WebLinkAbout120123 email Public comment - Yes poolALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Dear Commissioners-
We have written before and we feel compelled to write again to say we support moving forward with a public pool that meets the needs of our community, especially our kids.
We moved here almost 9 years ago for a job in the maritime economy and to raise a family. Boiler and roof issues have been substituted for staffing issues. Since the pandemic the pool
is not open at times that many kids can access and it’s hard for them to be in the pool’s cold water for long. Our son is now eight, our daughter is five, and we have been talking about
a new pool their whole lives. Turns out it’s been talked about for a quarter century and any day we could wake up to no public pool at all.
The ability to swim is a fundamental safety skill for all kids and especially for our community surrounded by water. Our frigid air and water temperatures mean many kids are without
free or accessible natural water to learn. This has been compounded by the pandemic and labor shortages, leading to several years of limited local pool hours and waitlists for lessons.
The impact is that relatively few of our kids are able to swim. We don’t know many families with strong swimmers and the kids that can swim (enough to not drown) have done so because
of driving to Port Angeles or Bainbridge on a regular basis, burning gas and spending our money outside the county.
We were disappointed that Commissioners were unable to move forward on this important public facility at recent BOCC meetings. We are concerned that a handful of voices intending to
distract or divide are getting more consideration than a multi-year, seven partner, stakeholder collaboration. While we note Commissioners’ questions on the location, geography means
our rural county is disbursed. Unfortunately there is neither the infrastructure, free land, operational funds or usership for a pool in the tri-area to pencil out. However, the hospital
is still our county hospital because it's in PT. We are all county residents. A new pool has enormous public benefit, it is a very needed regional service, and importantly it has a
built-in budget for free swim lessons for all school districts.
It is time to move forward. We all have to compromise. For our part, we think the proposal is conservative. We support the full build-out because it’s a better return for investment
with higher cost recovery. However, in the spirit of compromise, we are willing to settle for the recommended basic plan and help fundraise - if that’s what it takes to move forward.
We trust the work of others who have dedicated their time and expertise, weighed the pros and cons and come up with a clear list of recommendations. Why hold a comprehensive (aka lengthy
and expensive) stakeholder process only to gloss over its outcomes and the recommendations? It’s clear we all want a pool. There are millions of dollars in grants to be accessed in
the coming months. But your support is needed.
We love this community but, as we wrote in our last submission, it’s not an easy place for families. Support for working families – including investment in and opportunities for our
children – is what attracts and keeps those staffing our hospital, businesses, schools and marine trades. Commission Dean was spot on when she said we are divesting in our children
when we fail to support critical services and infrastructure. Exhausted parents are not the loudest nor able to be physically present at decision meetings. However, we did participate
in the healthier together process and we’ve made public comment, many times. We expect that our voices- and those of our kids are sufficiently represented. We are asking for a public
pool so that the kids in our county can learn to swim and for a safe facility to help them thrive. It is an investment in our county’s future, in our kids, in our community.
Please commission the required financial assessment with a view to putting the pool on the ballot next year. Let us, the voters, decide.
Thank you,
Kate and Ryan Chadwick
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