The Mayor is scheduled to deliver her proposed Capital Improvement Plan to the City Council today. The last CIP contained an item for replacement of Gath Pool, but many years into the future. There is no question that Gath–an important community resource–is in terrible condition, leaking thousands of gallons per day among other things. As an adjunct to her proposal to use Albemarle Park for NewCAL, the Mayor had promised to accelerate the construction of a new indoor-outdoor pool on the site, for a cost of about $9 million. When asked which item(s) on the CIP would be displaced in that event, the Commissioner of Building Buildings demurred.
Now that Albemarle is presumably heading off the list as a NewCAL site, where will Gath Pool end up on the CIP?
For those of us who have a hard time reading between the lines, could you please spell out what exactly you’re suggesting the mayor is doing?
Listen to the tapes of the community meetings: It was a clear perception of the neighbors that the City was offering the pool renovation in return for getting community support for the Albemarle siting decision.
Thank you for bringing this up, Paul. Tonight’s meeting is at 7:45 in City Hall – please attend if you can. (Residents from Preserve Newton Parks will also be at the Parks & Rec Commission next door in 211 at 7pm to observe discussion on the NewCAL agenda item – come to that if you can, too!) There’s so much we don’t know about a Gath Pool renovation, but we have learned that it is very needed. To replace/reconstruct this great outdoor pool for all — keeping it a great outdoor pool for all — should be a high priority for our councilors and should matter to every candidate.
One thing I will be listening for is anything on usage rates. The pool is so crowded during some summer days that my family can’t stay too long, and we go only to get in and cool off for a bit. (We take care not to drive, for every parking spot is packed.) But at the front desk, we’re usually just waved in – as regulars, we don’t need to badge in, nor do any of the other families we know – especially those fellow families participating in summer swim team. Many days find the computers down and the badge system not working, so everyone gets waved in. I’m in no way suggesting that the staff is negligent – on the contrary, the staff is very careful about safety protocols, ensuring that deep end swimmers are tested and in the system, etc., and that children enter their first names on a special sign-in list – but the official computerized record of who enters and leaves the facility is not a priority and has not been for years, as far as I can tell.
I raise this concern because I have heard residents who are unfamiliar with the pool refer to it as underused. This pool is BY NO MEANS underused – it is hugely popular during open swim, not to mention during the highly attended water aerobics classes for seniors, the twice-daily lap swim times that have long lines, or, of course, the many summer camps that rely on it as part of their programming. I am concerned that data may be circulating that relies on the official computerized record and inaccurately reflects pool usage.
We could do much more for the pool to encourage usage, such as extending the hours from 8-8 on summer weekends (believe me, we will all use it) instead of 1-6, and engaging the heaters underneath to extend the season to Memorial Day and Columbus Day, as has been done in the past. (Yes, we’ll use it.) But let’s be careful not share or accept inaccurate data now. If we want to measure usage, we can engage a company to review satellite data to estimate swimmers in the water. We can conduct polls and surveys of residents. But in the absence of those measures, please recognize that, to date, we users aren’t actually counted.
@Paul Levy: Are you suggesting the mayor or anyone around her has interests other than benefiting the city’s seniors? I don’t think I understand the purpose of this post.
Money seems to come and go in support of NewCAL, apparently to influence neighborhood opinion. Hundreds of thousands, for example, suddenly appeared for Carr improvements when neighbors objected to Albamarle. These techniques undercut what should be a clean and clear planning process.
I would assume that there would have been some construction economies if Albermarle was the NewCal site that would have made it prudent to accelerate Gath Pool. Beyond that, I find your post an attempt to stir up discontent.
@Newtoner, a new Senior Center should have been one of the least controversial issues Newton faces. Instead of proposing a straight up Senior Center, the Mayor has muddied the waters with NEWCal for reasons that are a bit of a mystery, but will delay Newton Seniors getting the Senior Center they deserve. That is a shame
I get the impression that Mayor Fuller has a bit of “keeping up with the Joneses syndrome” with respect to amenities in other cities and I think that is the impetus both for NewCAL and her grand ideas for the police station.
A new senior center wasn’t and isn’t going to be easy. Too many moving parts. Some tough decisions ahead.
We all agree we need something, what that something is, where it will go, and how we’re going to pay for it …
@Dave B, you raise an excellent point about economies of scale, but that was never presented by city officials as to the reason. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, was either project’s cost reduced as a result of the pairing.
As to discontent with regard to this project, that exists in ample amount without my posts.
My purpose in posting this was to reiterate that the process for siting this center has been deeply flawed, and that the prioritizing of city capital budget items seem subject to manipulation to serve a preconceived notion of which site would be recommended.
@Claire There are so many reasons why the senior center, AKA NewCAL is easy to support, yet difficult to execute.
Paul – The money going to the Horace-Mann School that’s now housed at the old Carr School building has nothing to do with NewCAL. The Carr space was never intended to be a permanent elementary school and the classroom spaces, as well as other spaces, are inadequate. The school committee and the mayor are in the process of trying to address the issues with the additional money.
Two totally separate issues – unfortunately one part of the community has had to bear the brunt of both. So if that’s part of what you’re calling the quid pro quo, it’s safe to say it can be taken off the list.
@Jane, I’m not questioning the need for money at Carr. Perhaps it’s just coincidental that a bolus of money was approved right after neighbors of Albemarle, whose kids go to Carr and who have been asking for those investments for quite some time, started their opposition to the siting of NewCAL at that park.