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Published on 09/22/1999 All articles from this issue

Parks & rec testing the water on community pool issue

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By Ellen Murray

Special to the Town Crier

At a Sept. 15 meeting jam-packed with more than 60 concerned citizens, the Los Altos Parks and Recreation Commission decided to let neighborhood groups, residents, tennis players, and swimmers cool off while it conducts a study on the feasibility of a community pool.

Parks and Recreation Director Bob Rayl said that the commission recommended that the city council gather input on the need for a pool and where it should be located.

"There are misconceptions that SPLASH (Swimmers Promoting Los Altos Aquatics, Safety and Health) wants the pool for its private use," Rayl said. "In fact, SPLASH came forward with the concept of a community pool, which could be used for city recreation programs, lessons, as well as children's and master's competitive swim programs."

The issue is making waves right now because Covington School, where Los Altos community swim programs take place, will reopen as a K-6 school next year. The Los Altos School District is developing the site for educational purposes.

A proposal to move the pool to the present tennis court facility at McKenzie Park at 707 Fremont Ave. has caused jitters among homeowners concerned about traffic and noise, as well as tennis players who don't relish giving up their courts to a pool.

Kathleen Vitakis, a Los Altos parent whose 6-year-old son is a member of the Covington pool swim team, said that "it's logical to have a pool in Los Altos where it's accessible to the entire community for a variety of recreational, fitness, and water sports activity. Tennis courts and soccer fields are open to the community. It makes sense for Los Altos to have a pool."

Los Altos resident Richard Thomas, chairman and spokesman for SPLASH, said that, as the group's name implies, a pool would serve a variety of purposes. "We have 1,400 swimmers using the Covington pool - and that includes the Los Altos Masters as well as children's swimming teams, lessons, and recreational swimmers."

SPLASH has gathered 600 signatures on a petition for a community pool because, "We think it's absolutely necessary," Thomas said. "We thought the McKenzie facility would be ideal (for a pool) because it's 100 yards from homes, and Foothill Expressway provides a buffer for sound and traffic. It's a nice setting - but if the neighborhood is against it, we're exploring other options."

Thomas said SPLASH has talked to Mountain View (which operates two public pools), St. Francis High School, and even the Palo Alto Elks Club about the possibility of shared use of a pool. "But the bottom line is that we need a pool right in Los Altos to make it truly useful to the community," he said.

The Hillview site is a possibility "but there's too much there already - it would be a disruption," he said.

Thomas said he envisions the possibility of a swim facility with two pools - a teaching pool with shallow, warm water and handicapped access, and another pool for competitive and sports events.