Our view: Pooling our efforts

In the late 1950s, T.J. Meenach, Spokane Park Board president, heard only dire news about the city’s pools. Four of the city’s pools had been obsolete for 25 years. The health department was threatening to close some of them down. A planned indoor-outdoor pool at Shadle Park High School was stalled in controversy.

In the end, it all worked out. Voters approved a $797,000 bond, enabling the building of Shadle’s pools and another new pool at Mission Park. The older pools got major upgrades. The 1960s are now considered the golden age of swimming in Spokane.

History is repeating itself. The news about Spokane’s pools is dire. Shadle’s pools are no more. The city’s remaining five pools are in need of work. In the next several months, citizens and leaders must decide the best way to do swimming in Spokane for the next 25 to 50 years. No one’s in agreement now.

The city hired a national pool engineering firm to come up with proposals. These will eventually go to the Spokane Park Board, which will make recommendations to the City Council. This process is expected to take until fall. A bond issue should be in front of voters by spring 2008.

The city held two public meetings last week, and swimming aficionados told the city what they want in a pool system. They want everything. Old-style pools, an indoor pool, a water park and the return of wading pools.

It won’t all happen. But the dialogue is good and needs to continue in a creative way. Some suggestions:

“ Think regionally. Municipal staffs and elected officials must work across boundaries on this challenge. How can Spokane County’s water parks – one built, one under construction – fill some of the blanks for city children? The city of Spokane Valley has some money for pools. How can its plans complement Spokane’s ultimate proposal?

The municipalities should research the feasibility of an indoor facility paid for, supported and managed through collaboration.

This would guarantee the Spokane area retains the vibrant pool culture necessary to offer swimming lessons and mentor our future lifeguards.

“ Seek out bold leadership. Most everyone was angry with Meenach during the late-1950s pool crisis, but he remained steadfast in his vision for clean and modern pools for Spokane’s children, and that’s one of the reasons the bridge on the Bloomsday route is named for him.

So far, no one in the city has emerged as a leader in this modern-day pool crisis. Part of the problem? The city’s parks department, the Park Board and

City Council all have a role in this process. But strong leaders can always surface, even in the midst of complex challenges. Let’s hope it happens here.

“ Ask about swimming where people swim. The meetings last week were not well-attended. Most people’s minds are not on swimming – yet. The engineering firm is conducting a scientific pool survey, and this should be supplemented with a more informative pools Web site and an intense outreach at the city’s pools this summer.

With regional thinking, collaboration, strong leadership and citizen input, Spokane can come through once again and create the next golden age of swimming.