Special to the Town Crier
A swimming group's quest for a new pool at McKenzie Park in Los Altos has residents taking sides for and against the plan.
The nonprofit group, SPLASH (Swimmers Promoting Los Altos Aquatics, Safety and Health), has been searching for a site to build a new pool, in the wake of the planned demolition of a pool its members use at Covington School. The Los Altos School District is eliminating the pool in preparation for opening a K-6 school in fall 2001.
The Los Altos Parks and Recreation Department is holding a public meeting today to hear community views about constructing a pool at McKenzie Park, a leading candidate. "It's the first chance to get neighborhood input," said recreation supervisor Joanne Byrne.
The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
No final decisions about a site for the pool will be made at today's meeting, said Los Altos Councilwoman Kris Casto. "The purpose is to decide the next step and discuss the pros and cons," she said. "As we go along, we want to be able to mitigate where we can."
Although the tennis courts and some trees would have to be torn up, there are advantages to building a pool at McKenzie Park, said Dick Thomas, coordinator of SPLASH, which will raise funds to build the new pool. "It's probably the most isolated spot in terms of being near other homes," he said.
However, a group of citizens is concerned about the plan, according to an anonymous flier posted at McKenzie Park, 707 Fremont Ave. The flier announced the group's plans to meet Sunday to "join together in opposition" of the pool, listing four key complaints.
Concerns included the destruction of the tennis courts and trees, and increased traffic, noise and parked cars.
Swimming lessons, the Los Altos Masters and other pool programs would move to the new pool. In the meantime, programs will have to move to a different city, possibly Palo Alto, Thomas said.
Casto said, "There are always some impacts that we want to make sure we address," adding they may still look into other pool sites. "The city's always had a community pool, and I'd like to continue that for our residents."