Group forms to keep pool operating amid talk of budget cuts

La Grande Swim Club members work out Monday at Veterans Memorial Pool. Save Our Pool supporters point out that young people currently using the pool include 60 members of the swim club and the 19 youths on the La Grande High School swim team. Save Our Pool members also stress that the pool can benefit people of all ages, noting that because swimming is a non-weight bearing activity it is easy on one’s joints, providing an opportunity for people with health problems to exercise. - CHRIS BAXTER/The Observer

The possibility of closure has sparked the formation of Save Our Pool, a community group focusing on keeping Veterans Memorial afloat.

Save Our Pool members are encouraging everyone interested in keeping Veterans Memorial operating to make their voices heard. They are being encouraged to do things like speak out at events such as the upcoming town hall meetings.

“I really think it’s important that for anyone who cares, to say that they care,’’ said Karen Clay of La Grande.

The value of the pool to this area’s youth is one of the things Save Our Pool members want people to appreciate. The opportunity to take swim lessons is one of the important things it offers to youths.

“When you are living in an area with rivers and lakes, it is important to learn how to swim,’’ said Heather Stanhope of Save Our Pool.

Gomez agrees that the pool provides an important resource for swim instruction.

“I don’t know anyone who has learned to swim at Riverside Park,’’ he said.

The pool also gives youths an activity option, one needed now more than ever because of the loss of places like The Rock, the La Grande bowling center that recently closed.

“Every time you turn around it seems like they are taking activities for youths away,’’ Stanhope said.

Young people currently benefiting from the pool, supporters point out, include the 60 members of the La Grande Swim Club and the 19 youths competing for the La Grande High School swim team. These young people spend hours at the pool each week.

“It is practically a home away from home for them,’’ Clay said.

Save Our Pool members are also focusing on the value of the swim facility for people of all ages. They note that because swimming is a non-weight bearing activity it is easy on one’s joints, providing an excellent opportunity for people with health problems to exercise. People benefiting from the pool include those recovering from joint replacement surgery and injuries.

Veterans Memorial Pool was an outdoor facility when it opened in 1950. The city of La Grande closed it in 1991 because of maintenance and budget problems.

The pool reopened in 1998 after being converted into an indoor facility. Voters approved a $2.6 million bond to pay for the conversion. The bond will be paid off by taxpayers in 2011, said Sandy Lund, recorder for the city of La Grande.

Gomez does not think it would be right to close the pool right after citizens had finished footing the bill for the indoor facility.

“That would be like paying off a car and then putting it in storage,’’ he said.

The pool’s operating budget for 2009-10 is $567,887. The total includes $122,651 for heating and electricity.