On Tuesday, King 5 reported the possible closure of two community centers and three swimming pools this summer, along with several of the wading pools citywide. Faced with budget reductions, former superintendent Tim Gallagher told King 5 “24 of the 27 public wading pools may close in June.”
Wallyhood contacted the Aquatics Office of Seattle Parks and Rec this morning, and spoke with Kerrie Stoops, acting coordinator for Mounger Pool in Magnolia to find out if our beloved Wallingford wading pool would be closed all summer. Stoops said that the Wallingford wading pool is still scheduled to open on June 26 and run through Labor Day, while the fate of additional wading pools still hang in the balance.
Seattle Parks and Rec has a wading pool hotline, which is updated daily at 9:30 a.m.: 206-684-7796. The recorded message, though, says that the wading pool schedule will become available in mid-April. Keep checking back for here on Wallyhood for more information, or call the Aquatics Office directly at 206-684-4078 for the latest latest (and let us know what you hear!)
I’m wondering if I’m reading this too fast, but I’m shocked to hear that not only SEVERAL but essentially ALL of the wading pools will be closed for the summer. “24 out of 27 will be closed” which means that only three in the entire city will be open? I’m really hoping that I’m misreading this.
And, I’m not sure how to interpret the statement that they “may close in June.” Does that mean they will open some time in June and then close soon after? That doesn’t make much sense, of course, but it also doesn’t make sense to say that they will be closed in June considering that they are already closed now. Or does it maybe (hopefully) mean that they simply will be opened later in the summer, after a delayed start….? My fear is that the message was that these 24 pools will probably remain closed the entire summer.
I don’t want to bust on the beloved W-ford wading pool, but it they are going to open only three pools this summer, I’d hope that the Greenlake wading pool gets higher priority. The Wallingford pool simply can’t accommodate the capacity that Greenlake does. (And, all the cement pillars in the deep end of the Wallingford pool scare me a little…)
Green Lake, Volunteer Park and Lincoln Park are the Big Three wading pools. Wallingford is one of the most popular and usually survives the cut. The news story reported UP TO 24 of the 27 MAY have to close UNLESS money is found. One would think that the budget could be reduced quite a bit by using AmeriCorps volunteers instead of hiring a staffer at each pool. Staff is needed to test the water throughout the day to comply with the Health Department. The pools are an essential component of summer recreation for Seattle families, especially if the weather is to be as hot as last year.
Bad timing with Supt Gallagher taking a hike just when continuity would be most helpful. Christopher Williams will be a stellar interim replacement and knows the system exceedingly well. Let’s wish him success and support.
Oh, yes, and if you moved to Wallingford since 1999, you should have seen those pillars before we lopped them off during the redesign. Believe it or not, but the pillars were up to 3 feet tall and a very favorite feature of our young designers under 10, though they set the parents to a-cringin’. The compromise was to keep them and trim them to equal height. They do help to define the deep end from the toddler area.