The Marshall Aquatic Center is one of the oldest in the state. It isn’t ADA compliant. The locker rooms need to be updated. The pool loses water daily. There isn’t a splash pad or zero depth entry. I desperately want to support the efforts to build a new facility, but we shouldn’t settle for the facility the city is proposing.

I’ve been on the aquatic center committee for several years, including serving as chairman of the committee to help in the design and promotion of the new facility. This is why the community should vote no.

• It doesn’t meet the needs of the community today or in the future.

• The city is ignoring the input from the public.

• The main pool is almost 40% smaller than the current pool and the diving area is incorporated into the smaller pool.

I participated in more meetings that I care to remember over the past five years advocating for the community members and users of the facility. I listened as they shared the results of public input and community polling. I then proceeded to watch as the city decided they would do what they want and ignore much of the input provided by community members.

The programs most important to the community where:

1. Open swim

2. Lessons/learn to swim

3. Competitive swim

4. Lifeguard training,

5. water polo.

The types of pools and features most important were:

1. Lazy river

2. deep water springboard diving

3. Wave pool

4. Splash pad

5. Competition 50 meter pool

The current design proposal fails to deliver on what those in the community have asked for.

One of the biggest drawbacks to the new proposed facility, is the significant reduction in space for lessons and learn to swim programs. Community services conducts lessons all summer long for up to 3 hours each day. The new facility will negatively impact the ability of the instructors to provide quality lessons. In planning, the city has ignored the input from recent pool managers that provided lessons to hundreds of children each summer.

Another significant issue is the lack of space in the pool. It is significantly smaller than the current pool. Proposed pool is 25 yards, current pool is 40 years. In addition, the smaller pool incorporates diving boards and a rock climbing wall with a water slide. This limits free play and recreational use of the pool. It could also limit use of the features and create a scenario where users can only use the diving boards or the water slide, but not both at the same time. Again, negatively impacting the user experience.

The new facility has improved locker rooms, zero depth entry, and a splash pad, but falls short of what the community has asked for.

Make the city go back to the drawing board and develop plans that service the community today and into the future. We have one chance in our lifetime to get it right.

Join me in voting “no” on or before Nov. 7.

— Brian Stucke is a Marshall resident