December 2004 · Volume 86 · Number 11 

Hot Stuff About Swimming Pools 2004
It's that time of year to begin preparing for summer activities, and, as in the previous two years, the December issue of Public Management (PM) offers this section on swimming pools owned and operated by local governments. In the July issue, managers were invited to share pool stories and photos. Here are the contributions that the magazine received.
Cheshire, Connecticut

The community pool in Cheshire, Connecticut, is a year-round facility that has a removable bubble top. 
Within the past year, the town of Cheshire has opened to the public the Cheshire Community Pool. Cheshire boasts one of the strongest youth and high school swim programs in the state of Connecticut, but until August 2003, the only pool available in town for kids' use was at a local private school. A movement in the late 1990s produced the momentum to get funding approved for the construction of a town pool, which was opened for business on August 28, 2003.
The Cheshire Community Pool is a year-round facility that is covered with a removable bubble for nine months and serves as an outdoor pool for the summer. It is 50 meters long and 25 yards wide, allowing the majority of swim meets to be held across the pool without closing the rest of the pool to the general public. There is also a leisure "L" at one end that allows for a handicapped entrance ramp and is large enough for toddlers' lessons. The deep end of the pool has two diving boards, with a diving well built into the pool bottom. There also is a kiddie pool with a mushroom-like raindrop feature in its midst.
The facility hosts the local high school and YMCA swim teams, as well as hundreds of children in each session of swim lessons. Normal hours of operation are from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily, seven days a week. There are numerous special events and birthday parties, and lanes are set aside during most hours for public lap swimming. The facility cost the town almost $4 million to construct, and the plan is that user fees will completely pay for the annual operating costs. The town does budget money to offset any underage in revenue.
At the end of August 2004, we will have completed one year of use, and the response from the public and the teams using the facility has been overwhelmingly positive. We predict that, as the public becomes accustomed to it and adjustments are made to ensure its smooth operation, the facility will be both profitable and one of the most heavily used recreational facilities in Cheshire and the surrounding area.
—Bob Ceccolini
Director of Parks and Recreation
bceccolini@cheshirect.org
Garden City, New York

Some thirty percent of the village's population has joined the aquatics facility operated by Garden City, New York. 
The village of Garden City operates an aquatics facility that is thriving despite probably the fiercest competition in the world, namely, the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound, Great South Bay, prosperous residents' summer homes, and a whole slew of beach clubs.
What tips the scale in the village's favor is the high-quality experience our residents and guests enjoy when using the facility, including the pools, water features, amenities, and professional staff who run the operation during the 12-week season.
The Garden City Pool Facility has three pools: a wading pool, a 50-meter family pool with two 150-foot water slides, and a 25-yard intermediate pool that is basically for laps and is also ADA-accessible. Other facility features include a large picnic area, water-spray area, full-service food concession, game room, bathhouses, playground, numerous shade structures, gazebo, ice cream station, and open lawns.
One of the most distinctive features within the facility is the beautifully landscaped show gardens, which each year feature the latest annuals, new perennials, and tropical vines. Full-time horticultural staff maintain the many planted beds, wall gardens, and containers to perfection, adding to the pleasure and quality of the leisure-time experience of patrons.
This self-sustaining facility is run as an enterprise account with a positive cash flow each year, including debt service from prior capital improvements, so there is no tax burden spread to the community as a whole. Rather, revenues from memberships, concessions, and miscellaneous sales of merchandise offset all operational expenses, including utilities.
Each year, about 8,500 members in five categories-family, couple, senior couple, individual, and senior individual-join the facility; this represents some 30 percent of the village's population. Family memberships are currently $390 for the 12-week season, representing an average daily fee of under $5.00 a day or, based on a three-hour visit, $1.66 per leisure hour.
Well-trained pool attendants see to the members' needs and keep the facility clean, while pool lifeguards conduct swim lessons for more than 1,000 children each year and guard the pool. Certified pool operators maintain the mechanical systems throughout the facility.
Recreation staff provide diverse activities and special events all season, including movie nights, family fun days, water carnival night, member appreciation day, 1950s night, and teens' and tots' story time. Serious swimmers can also join the early-bird club and work out between 6 and 8 a.m., seven days a week. Swimming competition is also available to younger members who wish to compete against other local municipal teams.
All in all, the Garden City Pool, with its country-club feel, is a special aquatics facility because of its unusual style, diverse programmatic offerings, affordability to the public, and fiscally sound management plan.
—Kevin Ocker
Chairman
Board of Commissioners of Cultural and Recreational Affairs
KOcker@gardencityny.net
Normal, Illinois

Normal, Illinois, spent $4 million to update its aquatic center. 
The town of Normal opened the newly renovated Anderson Aquatic Center in July of 2003. Before the $4 million renovation, Anderson Pool primarily served as a destination for lap swimmers, as it lacked the modern amenities needed to attract teens and families. Normal determined that there was a need to provide an alternative, family-oriented aquatic center that could also be used both for recreational and for competitive swimming purposes. Judging by the perception of both the public and the town, the resulting venue has been a huge success.
From the standpoint of officials in Normal, the primary reason for the success lies in the style, structure, and layout of the site. The renovation focused on separating ages and swimming abilities into different zones. Guests have their choice of three pools. The first is a zero-depth pool with automatic and manually controlled water geysers and cannons, a yellow submarine, and a 60-foot, on-grade water slide with accessible walk route.
The second is a lap pool complete with two water slides, one enclosed and one open. The water slides have an approximate elevation of 18 feet from platform to water and a run length of some 75 feet.
Lastly, the site contains a regulation-size, six-lane competitive pool with a one-meter diving board.
The separation by ages and swimming abilities has been well received by the public and, furthermore, has streamlined management efforts at the venue. Aquatic-center personnel can now target different management strategies in each of the three areas. As a result, safety at the facility has improved. This is especially the case with younger children, who can now enjoy an entire pool that is "zero-depth," with a maximum depth of 18 inches.
In addition to the pool areas, the town paid special attention to other site components, such as the bathhouse and the mechanical room. The new bathhouse replicates a small Eastern Seaboard setting, complete with shade sails. It also includes fun features such as unusual light fixtures, ceiling fans, and air nozzles. The bathhouse uses vibrant colors and captures natural light.
The 13,000-square-foot deck space accommodates competitive swimming events while keeping other sections of the pool open to the public. The aquatic center also uses a state-of-the-art mechanical system that includes highly automated controls and a hands-free chemical feed system.
The distinctive style and structure of the Anderson Aquatic Center have already proven to be a success. Attendance at the facility is nearly triple what it was in past years. Management and operational aspects also have benefited tremendously from the redesign and renovation investments. 
—Geoff Fruin
Administrative Analyst
gfruin@normal.org
Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica, California, improved its aquatics program after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. 
The city of Santa Monica created the Santa Monica Swim Center and Community Aquatics Program in unison to meet the tremendous aquatics needs in the local area, which was severely affected when the 1994 Northridge earthquake required the temporary closing of several community pools. The city, recognizing the critical recreational resource that a swim center represents, in response built an $8 million center with two pools: the fitness pool, a 50-meter competitive pool, and the splash pool, a shallow 10-lane facility used for instruction and recreational activities.
The facility, located on the Santa Monica College (SMC) campus, also offers one-meter and three-meter diving boards, a sun deck, viewing platforms, and a community room. It is a beautiful facility surrounded by palm trees and a spectacular tile wall that acts as a sound barricade for nearby residents.
The Community Aquatics Program affords a wide range of year-round opportunities, from such traditional offerings as lap swimming, swim lessons, diving, and recreational swimming to specialty activities like water aerobics, water polo, lifeguard training certification, and water-safety instructor courses. The program and facility accommodate a broad range of aquatics users, among them all SMC programs (competitive teams and physical education instruction); a nearby public middle school's aquatics program; several local swim groups, including Southern California Aquatic Masters and Team Santa Monica (a nonprofit youth swim club); and thousands of local community members.
The Santa Monica Swim Center, opened in July 2002, is operated under a joint-use agreement with SMC. During the summer, the city has use of the facility to provide more time for recreational and instructional swim activities to the community. During the school year, the city continues to offer programs to the community on a limited basis, while SMC has use of the facility for college classes, practices, and swim meets. To make it easily affordable to the community, the Swim Center offers a "Splash Pass" for recreational swimming or a "Fitness Pass" for lap swimming. During the past year, approximately 3,692 children have had swim lessons, and an average of 1,157 people have visited the facility per day in the summer for recreational or lap swimming.
The Community Aquatics Program's highly qualified staff provides supervision, administrative support, and lifeguard services. A team of five full-time staffers, six part-time staff members, and 80 seasonal employees-all specially trained in aquatics, aquatic maintenance, and custodial care-works hard to make sure the swim center remains in top condition.
The center has hosted several championship meets, such as the Western State Conference swim meets and water polo tournaments for SMC and the U.S. Swimming ABC Southern California swimming meet. In 2002, the Swim Center received two awards from the California Parks and Recreation Society: the Facility Design and Park Planning Award for Facility Design/Aquatics and the Agency Showcase Award for Special Programs. The Swim Center was featured in Aquatics International magazine, the Los Angeles Times Calendar Weekend, and the August 2004 issue of Los Angeles magazine's "Best of LA," as LA's favorite spot to swim.
—Julie Rusk
Human Services Manager
julie-rusk@santa-monica.org