Board members say they support swim teams but say the decision lies on the county

By Donald Rodrigue, staff writer

STUART - More than two dozen competitive swimmers, their parents and other supporters crowded into the Martin County School Board chambers April 15 to ask board members not to close the county's only community swimming pool in June 2009.

The swimmers represented various swim teams from schools across the county that regularly use the pool located at Martin County High School for their practice sessions. Both they and the adults who spoke before the board expressed their fear the sport would come to an end locally if the pool is closed next year.

Palm city businessman Dick Landrum, a former United States Master swimmer who practices regularly in the Martin County pool, formed "Save The Pool," a group of local swimmers and parents.

Mr. Landrum is leading a petition drive to keep the pool open and turned in 1,534 signatures to the school board during the meeting.

"The overriding theme, when we collected those signatures, was that people were outraged that we might have a lapse in the program," he said.

Seasonal Martin County resident Bill Dorney said that area children deserve the same chance he got when growing up in New Jersey and winning a swimming scholarship.

"My brother and I both went on to earn scholarships," Mr. Dorney said. "I was given an opportunity, and even though I was an underachiever, I was able to go on to the University of Florida and win honors."

Fourteen-year-old Jenna Kingsley explained to board members how important swimming was to her.

"It's been my dream of being on that (Martin County High) team since the age of eight," she said. "Dreams don't just get formed in that pool, they come true, and they're bound to be crushed if the pool is closed."

Jensen Beach High School exceptional student education teacher Conney Dahn brought several Special Olympics swimming students to the meeting, with each of them speaking before the school board in favor of the pool. One of them was Aaron Lee Coleman from South Fork High School.

"I'm a member of the Special Olympics team, and I need the Martin County pool to stay open so I can get better and practice," he said. "So, please don't close the pool, and P.S., thank you!"

Before the meeting began, Superintendent Sara Wilcox and board member Dr. David Anderson expressed their support for keeping the pool open, but reminded those in attendance to pressure the county for its support as well.

"We have a three-year agreement with the county that ends in 2009," Ms. Wilcox said. "If we need to revisit this, we will, but it needs to be in coordination between the county and the school board."

Mr. Anderson said it was a "shame" that a county as affluent as Martin County did not already have an aquatics complex.

"We oftentimes go into joint ventures with different groups and then they get us out onto a limb and then cut us off," he said. "But you've got to help us by leaning on the county too."

The community pool is operated under a joint county/school board agreement that divides the costs equally between the two entities. County commissioners had planned to have a new aquatics center built by the time the agreement expired, but reduced revenues coming from the voter-approved half-cent sales tax for parks and recreation land forced them to redirect the center's funds to finish work up at Indian RiverSide Park instead.

Parks and Recreation Director Richard Blankenship says the $10 million budget for the aquatics center has now been cut in half due to the tax shortfall, but says the project is next in line for county funding.

'We're going to the board on May 6 to see if we can go forward with this," he said. "The critical thing for the swimming pool is that we move forward on the aquatics complex and that we extend the inter-local agreement with the school board so the existing facility doesn't close before the new one is open."

Mr. Landrum and the Save The Pool group took their case to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on April 17, where they were encouraged to attend a county commission meeting on May 6 to show their support for the pool. They were also reminded about the joint meeting between the county commission and the school board at the Blake Library on June 18.