By Send letters to editor Bruce Barton at the Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022, or e-mail:
Continue efforts toward local pools
As a parent of school-age children in Los Altos, and as a swimmer, I highly encourage the city council to continue its efforts toward building a community pool in Los Altos.
I have been a member of Mountain View Masters Swim Team for many years. I wish our city could have facilities as nice as the ones at Eagle Park. It is disappointing that the neighbors of the Rosita location have put up such determined resistance to this project.
Traffic concerns should certainly be addressed, but there should be some compromise that will allow this site to be used, and a pool built this decade.
We are currently overloading the facilities at Eagle Park, where there are full to overflowing workouts (five to eight in a lane) at 5-7 a.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The closure of Covington pool has placed a heavy burden on the Mountain View pool community.
A city like ours should have at least one community pool complex.
Diana Heinzmann
Los Altos
Nearby residents also favor pools
After reading your editorial (”Rosita decision appropriate,” Feb. 26), I think you should know that there are many Rosita neighbors who favor building a new pool complex.
I live on Covington Road, just four doors down from Covington School. The old pool was directly behind our house. Since the pool’s closure, I’ve missed the happy sounds that we could hear, especially the families cheering during swim meets.
For big meets, we had many cars that would park along our street, but it was never a problem. Also, I’m sorry I never took advantage of the kayaking and scuba lessons, within walking distance, that were offered at the site.
My neighbors, mostly older with grown kids, feel the same way. That’s because we were aware that there was a pool and a school nearby, and didn’t mind, when we purchased our homes.
How the people who live on Rosita failed to notice, when they purchased their homes, that a school, community pool, tennis courts, mini-park, parish hall (or gym), and parochial school (or baseball field) existed at the end of the block, I’ll never understand. It reminds me of the people who buy homes under an airport flight path then complain about the noise.
Please don’t be swayed by a vocal few. There are many neighbors who believe that a pool would be a welcome addition to our community.
Karyn Plank
Los Altos
Neighbor supports pool complex
It is wrong to assume that all who live in the area oppose the Rosita pool project, because it is simply not true. I live in the Rosita neighborhood, on Arboleda Drive, very close to the back entrance to the Covington school yard. I miss the old pool and all the benefits it offered the community.
I enjoyed hearing the sounds of the children swimming and the excitement of the occasional swim meets. It was always a wonderful compeiment to the neighborhood and never a problem.
I am in full support of building the new pool complex and resent the fact that some of my neighbors are opposing this community facility. I believe that the 2-3 pool complex is appropriate to support the many needs of our population. I also believe that, contrary to the thoughts of some of my neighbors, traffic and noise will not be a major issue, no more than it was when we had a pool there before.
Please do not make the implication that all the neighbors are opposed to the pool complex. There are many who fully support this project.
Yvonne Rankin
Los Altos
Justification for two pools
I’d like to answer two questions raised by the Feb. 26 editorial “Rosita decision appropriate.”
Why not one pool to replace Covington Pool?
The public record shows the testimony of countless Los Altos citizens who spent precious evenings at City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission meetings in 1999 and 2000 to personally attest that the aquatics programs at Covington Pool didn’t meet their needs.
There was a clear message to City Council that any new pool should provide ample public recreational swimming.
Council embraced the idea of two pools rather than one larger pool because that configuration allows for two water temperatures, providing a better experience for competitive swimmers and lesson patrons alike. The third pool is simply a small wading pool for toddlers.
Is it true that two pools are required for profitability?
Absolutely not, as demonstrated by Los Altos Masters (LAM), the independent operator of Covington Pool from 1987 through January 2001 during which it served thousands of Los Altos citizens without incurring a deficit.
Use of Covington Pool increased during LAM’s tenure. Swim lessons were sold out in 1999 and 2000 and growth of the youth team was constrained by the physical facility.
These two issues illustrate the quandary faced by our city leaders when determining a replacement for Covington Pool: Should we aim simply for an updated version of Covington Pool even though the population of Los Altos has almost doubled since Covington Pool was built in 1954? Or should we expand the capacity to meet the needs of the entire community of Los Altos in 2000 with more water space to accommodate the larger population?
Whichever choice we make, we must move quickly, because a generation of Los Altos children does not have access to swimming lessons, youth swim team, and recreational swimming in Los Altos today.
Kathy Englar
SPLASH Community
Pool Project
Los Altos
Let’s continue neighborhood spirit
I live on Rosita Avenue and had the pleasure of “walking” my children to swim lessons at Covington. My two girls have missed tremendously their beloved Covington Pool since it was filled in. We have always enjoyed the “sounds” of the families around the pool, the school, the basketball gym, the soccer and baseball fields. The swim meets at Covington were always my favorites because the atmosphere in that neighborhood always appeared to be so warm and welcoming. Let’s continue to maintain that spirit of family activities, that includes all ages, in our neighborhood!
Teresa Milly
Los Altos
