Shipe Pool Party 2013
Photo Credit: Deborah Eve Lewis
The City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department has opened up the public input process in the assessment it is doing on aquatics resources – pools and swimming programs. It is critical that people who want to see Shipe Pool and other neighborhood pools remain open participate in this process by attending one of the public hearings next week and completing the online survey.
As many of you know the city does not have adequate funding in its budget to support the parks and pools it manages. For years, PARD has been considering closing older pools like Shipe. Two years ago, Shipe was on the suggested closure list – the plan was simply to leave the pool empty and padlock the gates year-round.
Our understanding is that older, smaller pools embedded in neighborhood could be closed in favor of new larger “aquatics centers” – that would be the trade-off. It is not reasonable to expect that the city will both maintain the existing pools AND open new facilities around town. Keep that in mind as you fill out the survey – please consider making keeping neighborhood pools open, maintained, and accessible the top priority for the city.
Online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/COAAquatic-Assessment
Open Public Input into the City of Austin Aquatic Assessment:
Northwest Austin Meeting and Open House
Aug. 19, 2013 Anderson High School Cafeteria
6:00-6:30pm Open House
6:30-8:00pm Public MeetingSouthwest Austin Meeting and Open House
Aug. 20, 2013 Bowie High School Cafeteria
6:00-6:30pm Open House
6:30-8:00pm Public MeetingNortheast Austin Meeting and Open House
August 21, 2013 LBJ High School Cafeteria
6:00-6:30pm Open House
6:30-8:00pm Public MeetingSoutheast Austin Meeting and Open House
August 22, 2013 Dove Springs Recreational Center
6:00-6:30pm Open House
6:30-8:00pm Public Meeting
Thanks for taking time in this super busy time of year to make your voice heard in this process!
Has the City found a way to quietly close Shipe Pool without facing the political uprising it faced when it announced planned closures a few years ago? This year, to everyone’s delight, Austin announced that the pools would have extended hours. Shipe opened as expected, and was open with no problems. For TWO DAYS. Then, stakeholders found 2 notices posted on the locked fence, stating that certain pools would be randomly closed due to staffing issues on some days. On the 4th day, a third notice was posted saying that Shipe (and several older pools) would be closed indefinitely due to the lack of staffing. Why were the extended hours put into place if the staffing was already an issue? I am disheartened by these events, and I find myself hoping that that the citizens of Hyde Park will rise up (again) and make it known that our small, neighborhood pool is not disposable. I hope Shipe Pool will re-open, and stay open through the extended period that the City claims is its goal.