Saving the center
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 3:27 PM PDT
Andy Gates Argus Observer
Ontario
A chlorine aroma lingered in the warm, humid air, as seniors stretched sore muscles and children giggled in the cool, blue water.
The scene at the Ontario Aquatic Center Tuesday is one that area residents like Harry Erlebach and other seniors, adults and children do not want to lose.
So far people like Erlebach and many others have signed checks or contributed funds to keep the doors of the beleaguered facility open. Nearly $32,500 has been donated so far by the community to keep the Aquatic Center doors open, but the facility is still teetering on the edge of closure. At least $100,000 needs be raised to keep it functioning until June 2007.
In March, the Ontario Budget Committee announced no additional funds would be provided to subsidize the Aquatic Center once the budgeted funds are depleted. The board also authorized the closure of the pool if significant funding to cut the existing subsidy is not found.
Erlebach was the first person to donate money to the Aquatic Center cause, according to Ontario Parks and Recreation Director Kathy Daly.
Erlebach does not use the pool but his wife does, Erlebach said. She takes water aerobics classes three times a week to help alleviate her condition he said.
“The pool caters to seniors,” Erlebach said.
But children and adults also flood into the pool.
Since June 1, 5,416 people have paid to swim at the pool, Aquatic Center Recreation Supervisor Debbie Jeffries said.
Erlebach said he can still remember when the pool was erected from funds donated by the late Jon Stubstad, owner of Andrews Seed Company. Erlebach said he does not want to see the facility disbanded.
Dave Polhemus, the current owner of Andrews Seed, said he felt the same way.
“He (Stubstad) was instrumental in getting the Aquatic Center established many years ago. I felt that he would not like to see it closed,” Polhemus said.
Polhemus recently wrote a $20,000 check to the center, the largest donation yet, Daly said. People across a wide spectrum of the community, though, are also finding a way to contribute.
For example, Daly recently pointed out a large plastic water jug filled with change and loose $1 dollar bills. Kids dump their penny jars into the jug, Daly said. One individual donated her income tax refund. People from as far as Emmett chipped in. And local businesses have tried to do their part as well, Daly said.
A tight municipal budget
Plagued by budgetary woes and shifting priorities, the city cannot afford to operate the popular recreation facility, according to Ontario officials.
“The city has come to the end of available funding. We've drained the coffers to levels we can't go beneath,” Ontario City Manager Scott Trainor said.
A March 23 Argus Observer article illustrated the city has the funds available to keep the Aquatic Center open, but only by depleting the city's contingency fund, which is used to make up the available cash on hand for future budgets.
In the March 23 article, Ontario Mayor LeRoy Cammack said the city's priorities fall into two categories: the “must have” services and the “nice to have” services.
The must haves, Cammack said, include services such as police, fire and finance. The nice to have services are those such as the library, the Aquatic Center and parks.
“Which are very valuable to a community, but a community can exist without them, not that we'd want that,” he said in March.
The pool is not free. Punch cards for children and teens, good for 20 visits cost $40. Swim classes cost at least $20, and if a child arrives late, the pool charges $5. Those fees, however, are simply not enough to operate the pool according to Ontario officials.
Trainor said he appreciates the outpouring of community support to save the center.
“We're really excited (about donations), this is really neat,” Trainor said.
But it's a “band-aid fix” to a bigger problem, he conceded.
“We can't go year to year doing fundraisers (to support the pool),” Trainor said. And the city is exploring ways to maintain a public pool that can function into the future. City elected leaders recently recruited a planner who has collected market and facility information, and next week will recommend future moves the city can make to create a self-sustaining pool, Trainor said.
Erlebach questioned why the city was able to support the Aquatic Center before, but not now.
“It's a shame the (city) council would consider closing the pool,” he said.
Trainor explained that the city's general fund, which supports services such as police, fire and the library, has been on a steady decline.
That downward trend in available funds, he said, from state-mandated caps on property taxes, which the city can collect, and funnel back into the general fund. But Polhemus believes the city will find a way to keep the pool open for years to come.
“If public support can help deficiency in the short term, then the city can come up with a means to keep it open,” Polhemus said.
Citizens and officials agree the pool is important for economic development.
“You can't have a growing community without the pool,” Erlebach said.
How to help
The community can send checks to the pool or make donations in person.
There are two upcoming fund-raisers as well, Daly said. A golf tournament will be held July 22, at the Ontario Golf Club.
And there will be a dance and dinner at Touch of Oak by Yasuda on Aug. 23, featuring a rock-and-roll band called Place Your Marker.
which are also donating their time.
Events are open to the public, Daly said, and questions can be directed to her at 889-7946, or Debbie Jeffries, at 889--7686.
