Pool Project Community Outreach & Input

Have an idea? Want to provide feedback about the project? Reach out at [email protected].

Provide Feedback

 

Community Outreach and Input Summary

As part of the planning process for the pool, the Planning Director and Recreation & Parks Director spent the day at the pool on July 31, 2023, to gather community input on what the community would like to see for the pool. User groups that were present that day included participants and guardians associated with swim lessons, day camp, open swim, and swim team. We also spoke with pool employees and members of the public that stopped by to provide comments. Promotion of this event included flyers, social media, and radio interviews. The activities included:

• A Youth Survey
• Vision & Dream Board
• Discussions with attendees

This summary focuses on the input received from that day. Additional outreach is anticipated as the project moves forward.

 

Vision & Dream Board Results

Participants were given an opportunity to share their hopes and aspirations for the future of the pool. A wide array of ideas and hopes were shared. They were generally focused on the following key themes:

1. Equity & Inclusion: The need for non-gender bath/changing rooms was a common desire. It was noted that you cannot access the pool without going through the male or female changing rooms. This is a barrier to pool usage by non-binary people. One participant drew up a pool house design based on research they had done for nonbinary bathrooms for the high school (see attached). Participants left many comments about how they hoped the pool would be accessible to all users including individuals using mobility assisted devices and younger children. Ideas included zero depth entry, more stairs to serve the mid-depth areas of the pool (it was noted that pool ladders can be difficult for some people to navigate), smooth pool deck surfaces, ramps into/out of the pool, and wheelchair accessibility for hallways in the pool house.

2. Address the bathroom/locker room: The need to improve the bath/changing rooms was a common comment. In addition to making them non-gendered as discussed above, many felt that they were old and always wet. Ideas for improvement include having garage doors that can be pulled up and left up for ease of cleaning.

3. Preserve and improve pool amenities: Participants liked the slides (big pool and the Duck slide), kiddie pool and Rotary Water Playground. People liked that they were in close proximity to each other. Improvement suggestions included having a larger water playground, larger kiddie pool, and having the main pool slide enter into shallower water so that younger children could use it. New ideas included a lazy river (the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Outdoor Pool in Portland, Oregon was referenced), hot tubs, and covering the pool with an open sided structure. Listed amenities around the pool area included longer snack bar hours, a little free library, and tables and chairs within the pool area.

4. Pool: Several people expressed a desire to extend the pool season. For most this meant having an indoor, year round facility. For a few, this meant extending the pool season from early June to later in the season. Many people spoke to the need to maintain affordability, in both a pool project and the prices to use the pool. Several people listed having a dedicated lap swimming pool at the park. This would allow for more time for lap swimming and also allow swimming to occur during times that swim lessons and swim team were held. Some participants also spoke to having limited lanes for use during a swim meet due to the shallow depth and expressed hope that the pool would be deep enough to use starting blocks. Finally, other suggestions received included having a net zero pool facility and grounding the pool

 

Staff-generated ideas

Pool staff compiled a list of suggestions that included programming and operational suggestions. They are as follows:

• Clothing rack with hangers for lost and found
• Staff bathroom
• Lockers
• Bathing suit driving machine
• Storage for check room (for disc golf, balls, swim diapers)
• Clearer signage regarding hours, outside life jackets, nose goggles
• Whiteboard for check room
• Better system to get into/out of check room
• Golf cart
• Wheelchair accessible hallways
• Establish where smoking is allowed 
• Water aerobics classes
• Pool staff run social media for quick announcements
• Adult/senior specific swim
• Air conditioning in check room
• Soft serve machine
• Stamps
• Mural

 

Youth Survey

A survey was created specifically to receive input from children up to the age of 18. Forty (40) youth took the survey. Of the 40 respondents, the age break down was as follows:

Age	Responses
6 and under	5
7-12	31
13-15	4
16-18	0

Most of the youth that filled out the survey attended a day camp in the park. Some of the responses were filled out by parents who asked their young children the questions. Youth respondents were asked to share all the ways that they use the pool. The two most popular responses were Summer Camp (23) and Open Swim. Nine respondents used the pool for swim team. The one “other” response was to jump in the deep end and use the diving board.

Youth respondents were also asked to share what they like most about the pool. They were allowed to check as many boxes as applied. The highest response was the slide at 73% followed by the diving board at 70%. Of the 13 respondents that answered “other,” 8 mentioned swimming lessons. Two respondents noted that they liked have a shallow end, particularly a 2 ft 4 shallow end for little children to stand in the big pool. Other open-ended responses included have a variety of aquatic activities for children of all ages and the duck slide.

The next question asked the youth pool users what they would like to see at a new pool. Pictures were given to illustrate the amenity. Respondents were able to check as many items as they wanted to see. The top features were a lazy river (33 votes) and a slide (29 votes). Shade received 26 votes. Two responses were given under “Other.” The open-ended responses were for a squishy pool deck and slides for younger children.

The final question was a free form question that allowed respondents to write anything they wanted about the pool. Fifteen (15) responses were received. The majority of comments were negative about the condition of the bathrooms/changing areas.