As the director of community planning for the Columbia Association and the lead on CA's Aquatics Master Plan project, I was concerned by Richard Blank's perspective ("CA staff still trying to kill the neighborhood pool concept") on what is a complex topic.
The Columbia Associaiton, a private not-for-profit service organization, has 23 outdoor pools, five indoor pools and an impressive set of statistics for community pool use, staff safety records and customer satisfaction. I think we all agree that swimming and pools are an important part of the Columbia culture. We have been working on the Aquatics Master Plan all this year, and the Columbia Association is focused on expanding and enhancing aquatics opportunities.
During the planning process we have harnessed the expertise of a CA inter-department work team to address programing, demographic trends, facilities, sustainability and financial and staffing issues related to the future of CA aquatics. We have also consulted with more than a dozen aquatics experts to learn about recent trends related to pool construction, enhancement features and programming.
CA also included residents, members and pool users in the process. We've had extensive civic engagement over the last year: There have been thousands of hits on our Aquatics Master Plan website we've held seven focus groups and four public meetings; we've worked closely with a 23-member citizens' task force; and we developed an online commenting tool for the public to submit comments on suggested improvements for our pools.
As we look ahead and make recommendations to keep our pools fresh and attractive, we are focused on expanding and enhancing aquatics opportunities. We will continue to work with the task force to deliver a draft plan to the CA board of directors in January. The board will be holding a public work session on Tuesday, Jan. 31, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Claret Hall in River Hill to explain the recommendations and hear from the public.
Jane Dembner
Harper's Choice