The aging and costly SplashDown water slides at the Columbia Swim Center should be replaced with something new and different. The least-used neighborhood pools in Columbia should be transformed. Other pools should be made more appealing with upgrades and more programs.
These are among the recommendations the Columbia Association staff has made for CA's aquatics master plan, which could change how the association's 28 pools are operated and what amenities they offer.
The recommendations are to be discussed Tuesday, Nov. 15, at a meeting of the aquatics master plan task force.
Using input from the task force, as well as from experts and the public, CA staffers have developed two scenarios: one that would keep the 23 outdoor pools and SplashDown open and spend money to repair, renovate and maintain them, and one that would close three of the least popular outdoor pools and SplashDown, and dedicate money to replacing them with new facilities. The master plan could go with one scenario or a combination of both.
The staff recommendations, which have been posted on the task force's website, follow the second scenario — a scenario that appears to be supported by recent surveys of residents at public meetings and task force members.
The surveys had a limited reach — 62 of 98 people at the two October public meetings answered a questionnaire, as did 14 of 23 task force members.
But the answers were "pretty consistent" with what CA staff and the task force had heard before, said Carlton Haywood, the task force chairman.
"There's a deep understanding of the value of these aquatics facilities to our community, and there's also a growing understanding that we have limited resources," said Jane Dembner, CA's director of community planning. People understand the "need to target our resources so we can continue to have great aquatics programs and maintain and upgrade all the other facilities we have in Columbia," she said.
In regard to SplashDown, an overwhelming majority of those surveyed said that it should not remain open if the costs of maintaining, operating and repairing it are too high. Instead, they supported replacing it with another "water-based, family friendly attraction" at the Columbia Swim Center in Wilde Lake.
SplashDown opened about 25 years ago, peaked in popularity in the 1990s and has experienced a dramatic decline in visits in the past decade. In the 2007 fiscal year, it had 13,200 visits, or 5,000 visits when not including parties. In the 2011 fiscal year the numbers fell to 7,080 total visits, and just 2,150 visits when not including parties.
SplashDown is now closed for repairs to its stair tower but will reopen in 2012.
The recommendations also include adding a water playground in the wading pool area and a climbing wall to the diving area at the Columbia Swim Center, and replacing the wading pool at the Supreme Sports Club with a pad that sprays water or another feature.
'Theme' pools supported
A majority of those surveyed also supported converting pools: 56 percent of residents said maintaining all 23 outdoor pools, even those sparsely used, is not the correct policy. And, 73 percent said the sparsely used parks should serve other purposes, such as becoming water-themed playgrounds.
Task force members supported those ideas even more strongly.
Both groups also overwhelmingly supported "theming" pools to appeal to specific groups and demographics.
The recommendations propose enclosing an eight-lane outdoor pool, turning it into a year-round indoor facility in which competitive swimmers would practice. That, in turn, would open up room at other indoor pools, allowing for other activities and programs.
Other low-attendance pools could become water-themed playgrounds; the transformation of Swansfield Pool in Harper's Choice and Hopewell Pool in Owen Brown has made each one of them among the most-used CA pools.
Pools also could serve specific groups or program needs, including adults, teens or young families. A pool could be used exclusively for lap swimming, under one recommendation.
The recommendations will be developed in December into a draft of the master plan, which will be presented to CA board members in January. Public input is still being gathered.
An informal drop-in session focused on the interests of young families will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Columbia Swim Center.