2004-05-03 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Session 1918 May 3, 2004 She is against returning to "overcrowding" and noted that the reduction of pool use hours in St. Louis County could affect adversely the pool use in University City. She noted that other municipalities enjoy residents only use of their facilities, and that the high taxes paid by people who live here should guarantee the same for this municipality. There are other ways to raise additional revenue, she believes. Mary Hart, 6901 Cornell Avenue, feels that there are controls in place, which, if the pool is opened to a non-resident policy, would not lead to over-crowding and other undesirable conditions. The Parks and Recreation Department have purchased a software program to track season pass holders and daily fees. If the pool becomes too crowded, the pool can refuse to admit non-resident daily passes. There will also be behavior control policies. She believes in its potential to raise revenue. If a great number of people do not favor non-resident use, she said, perhaps there should be a compromise, where it can be a means of raising revenue for the City. Les Palmer, 7507 Washington Avenue, speaking on behalf of the Parks Commission, which twice voted down opening the pool to non-residents because of the issue of over- crowding, said that he favors opening the pool to residents only for the first year, assessing the degree to which the pool is used, and then considering non-resident use if the pool is under-utilized. Jeanne Norberg, 7134 Princeton Avenue, opposes opening the pool to non-residents initially, but favors waiting to see how it works out, and she wants there to be more promotion to the community. Anne Fitter, 7137 Princeton Avenue, opposes non-resident use of the pool, because she wants a family atmosphere to prevail. Mary Weber, 7250 Orchard Avenue, is a new resident of four years and opposes opening the pool to non-residents, because there is all ready a policy which enables non-residents to use the pool, that is when they are accompanied by a resident. She is concerned about unaccompanied children dropped off at the pool and left without supervision. Jim Reeves, 7107 Cornell Avenue, spoke as a former lifeguard at the pool, pointing out that in the 1970's on a hot day, the capacity of 1200 people was reached quickly in the morning. He said that he had experienced intoxicated people gathering in the center of the pool and causing problems. He did not feel that the City Council could adequately make decisions for teenage lifeguards who would have to control difficult situations. Resident lifeguards are able to know pool users as members of the community and to learn their limitations as swimmers, thereby preventing problems. He asked the City Council to vote against this measure and to market the pool to University City residents. Page 4