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To the editor:
Close your eyes and put yourself back to your youth.
Do you remember the feeling of water splashing all around you as you fly down a waterslide at full speed after waiting in line for what felt like forever?
The excitement flooding through you right as you crash into the water at the end and jump out of the pool to do it all over again. Our youth deserve this feeling too and I hope our community gives it to them.
I highly encourage everyone to do their research before voting on the sales tax referendum. There has been a lot of information shared in recent letters to the editors, but not all of it is completely accurate. After reading a recent letter to the editor, I contacted the city with a few follow up questions as I wanted to make sure I was well informed before sharing information with my fellow community members.
A recent letter to the editor shared the current design of the new facility does not meet the community's wants and needs. If you do your research, you will learn that is simply not true. The only items that it does not meet from the public input are a 50-meter pool and wave pool. All the other top items the community wanted in the design have been addressed and included. I also learned that a 50-meter pool was considered as an option and presented, but based on the additional cost it was eliminated since a 25-meter pool can still be used for competitive swimming.
The letter also claimed that there is a significant reduction in space for learn to swim programs. Once again, that is untrue as the new facility has 50% more space than the existing facility can accommodate. It is also safer for kids at the beginner levels who won't have to be in deep water that they can't touch in when learning how to swim. In addition to more space, the zero-depth entry and splash pad areas in the new facility would introduce water opportunities for younger children.
Community pools serve as a gathering place for socialization of children and adults. I am a born and raised resident, who spent every summer of my childhood utilizing the pool and want those same memories and opportunity for all children in Marshall. Please don't let your individual wants for a certain location or amenity at the new aquatic center overpower the overall benefit to the community. The new design may not be perfect in your eyes, but what is perfect to you may not be to someone else. The reality is, the longer we wait to take action on a new facility, the more the cost will grow, and our current facility will age, until we are left with no aquatic center at all. I want to see Marshall continue to grow and thrive for generations to come which is why I am voting yes on Nov. 7th.
Amanda Schwartz
Marshall