Council Reluctantly Approves 2012 Summer Aquatics Program

In a scantily attended meeting Monday night, the approved the implementation of the by a 4-3 vote. The vote also effectively allocated $180,000 to the program.

The program designates usage at the city’s three available pools: , and , assuming that the pool at SVMS will be repaired in a timely manner.

Included in the $180,000 budget allocation is $38,000 the city will have to pay the school district to cover operational costs of using the competition pool at Christopher High School. Council member Bob Dillon said he could not support the program because the city has already put $4.3 million toward maintaining the center.

“I’m aghast because I’m looking at $38,000 for a pool for which we own probably half,” he said. “The argument I’ve heard from the school district is that ‘it is for the children’ when it comes to wanting money from us. What they want to tell us is that it’s a dollar and cents proposition. It’s a dollar and cents proposition on my end too.”

City Manager Tom Haglund said he and city staff are in ongoing discussions with the and superintendent Debbie Flores as to what the city’s fiscal responsibilities are to the center.

“I’ve tried to challenge the school district to recognize that we are less of an itinerant user for which you charge a fee and more of a partner in this thing,” he said.

He did explain that, per prior direction, the city's $4.3 million are for maintenance of the recreation pool but not the competition pool. The district can therefore charge the city to use that pool.

No representatives from the school district were present at the meeting, a fact that council member Dion Bracco didn’t appreciate.

“They are letting this play out so that we’re the bad guys when they don’t have the money for their share,” he said. “I feel like we are being held hostage here. They are trying to extort money out of us, where it’s either you be the bad guy or pay this amount. I don’t see that as being good stewards of our citizens’ money.”

Each pool in the aquatics program will provide “specific aquatic services.”

At the , water slides, splash zones and recreation swimming in the center’s competition pool will be offered for a total of 15 weeks beginning Memorial Day and ending Labor Day. For six weeks of that time, the pool will only be operational on weekends.

The pool at GHS will be open for swim lessons and lap swimming and the pool at SVMS will host subsidized swim lessons and recreational swimming.

Other Items

• In a 7-0 vote, the council passed a resolution to request that the Valley Transportation Authority provide bus service to during the summer.
  

• Mayor Al Pinheiro made a proclamation naming April as Fair Housing Month in the city. The proclamation is in celebration of the 44th anniversary of the enactment of the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which made it illegal to discriminate in the sale and rental of housing based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The law was extended in 1988 to disallow discrimination in housing based on family status or handicaps.

• The mayor also proclaimed that the city will join the nation in celebration of National Bike Month in May. Thursday, May 10 will be Bike to Work Day in Gilroy.

• Gilroy's North Coast Medical received the "Recycler of the Year Award" by Recology South Valley. The award is given annually to a local business that does a great job at recycling.