Community Rallies to Keep Paul Nelson Aquatic Center Open in Santa Maria
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - The Santa Maria City Council may close the Paul Nelson Aquatics Center during the winter months.
City leaders have been surprised at the amount of public interest that continues to flood in.
The issue is part of the city’s budget challenges.
“The staff report for the budget item included some proposals,” says Chuen Wu, Santa Maria’s Assistant City Manager. “And the proposal included a winter closure of the pool, which would save the city about $340,000 annually.”
City leaders say the facility is expensive to operate year-round, based on how much money it generates.
“What it costs to heat the pool, the chemicals,” says Santa Maria’s mayor Alice Patino. “Of course we have the water costs, and we charge, what, about $1.50 or something to use the pool?”
City leaders say a large crowd formed at Tuesday night’s council meeting, reinforcing a continuous flood of emails urging the council to keep the pool open year round.
“The audience had spilled out beyond the council chambers into the hallway,” says Wu. “Then the hallway got full and spilled out beyond the doors of the City Hall. And there were people outside in the parking lot. I felt like there were 150 people, 200 people here, showing up to voice their concern about the winter closure of the pool.”
Retired Allan Hancock College professor Nancy Jo Ward says closing the pool would have an adverse affect on the community.
“Santa Maria has been committed to teaching its residents to swim for 100 years and living just minutes from the Pacific Ocean, that has never been more important,” Ward said from the podium at Tuesday night’s meeting. “The CDC reports that swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%. This is a life safety issue, not just a recreational one.”
The council decided to keep the pool open for now.
The discussion will be revisited at the city council’s next meeting.
“We look forward to the conversation that the stakeholders will have with city staff,” says Wu. “Whatever the results and findings of that conversation, we'll report back to the City Council on June 16th as part of their budget discussion.”
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