Earlier this the week, The Star Press published a front page story about one group's proposal for reviving Tuhey Pool. The currently-closed pool's future was also the feature topic of Thursday night's "Chat with the Mayor" session at Carnegie Library in Muncie. I attended the session to hear first-hand what the city's position is.
For those who missed the newspaper story, a private group has drafted a plan, complete with a professionally produced conceptual illustration of a renovated Tuhey Pool, surrounded by a water park called Tuhey Commons. The consortium includes members of a group called UNISON, the Muncie Family YMCA, and the city park board. They're way ahead of other groups and individuals interested in Tuhey Pool's future--they've already acquired a $50,000 planning grant from American Electric Power, and more importantly, they've received a commitment from Mayor Sharon McShurley to support a bond issue of up to $2,000,000 for repairs at Tuhey. According to The Star Press, re-opening the current pool AND developing the adjacent water park could cost as much as $7,500,000.
On Thursday, Mayor McShurley publicly stated her support for the $2,000,000 bond issue. But she also later told the audience she wouldn't spend any more than $500,000 on repairs to re-open Tuhey Pool for 2011. That begs the question--why do we need a bond issue that is four times the amount needed to re-open Tuhey? I'm still waiting to hear a good answer.
There is at least one other group organizing in Muncie, one with a different view of what to do with Tuhey Pool, and more broadly, Tuhey Park. In the interests of full disclosure, I attended one of that group's meetings last week as a swim parent, and plan to continue being involved in its efforts. I speak only for me in this blog, though, not the group as a whole.
Our group's approach differs from the Tuhey Commons concept in a major way--we believe that repairing or building ANYTHING for strictly outdoor use would be a waste of money. Whether it's a competition pool, a wading pool, or a "sprinkle park" (Mayor McShurley's term), Indiana's climate will limit their usefulness. If the entire Tuhey Commons concept had already been built, had opened today and stayed open through Labor Day 2010, it would operate for a maximum of 101 days this year. When you consider the unavoidable bad weather days of summer (too cool to swim, or too rainy), and the fact that most school systems resume classes in mid-August, your realistic operations calendar is much shorter.
But let's assume we have great weather all summer and never miss a day. Tuhey Commons, as it's being proposed now, wouldn't generate a DIME in swimming or water park revenues on the remaining 264 days of the year. That's an awfully long time to sit dormant.
What would be better? Again, speaking strictly for me, a facility that could operate, be on the property tax rolls, and generate revenue 365 days a year. We're talking about an indoor-outdoor natatorium or aquatic center, complete with a water park under the roof. Take a look at the privately owned and operated Splash Universe in Shipshewana, Indiana. It's a combination indoor water park/hotel/restaurant. Now add a competition pool on the other side of it. We'd have exactly what the people of Muncie deserve, a first-rate facility that covers the needs of everyone, from casual swimmers and vacationers to high-level competitive swimmers.
That will likely cost millions of dollars, and I am far from naive about who will have to pick up the lion's share of the tab. It will have to be, and should be, the private sector, perhaps with leverage from the public sector.
Key members of the McShurley administration seem content to put a band-aid on Tuhey Pool, re-open it next summer, and operate it at a loss. So if you love the sport of swimming, or love someone else who does, and you want to see a better POOL for Muncie, NOW is the time to get involved, speak up, and DEMAND it.
If we wait any longer, a great opportunity will have been squandered, and it will be too late.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
A NEW POOL FOR MUNCIE
Muncie and Delaware County have a rich tradition of excellence in the sport of swimming. Numerous athletes who got started here as recreational swimmers or club swimmers have gone on to accomplish great things at the high school, college, and even Olympic levels of the sport. We've produced world record holders, college champions, high school state champions, All-Americans, and Academic All-Americans. It's a proud legacy.
Many of those swimmers and their friends spent their summers training and competing in Tuhey Pool, a facility that opened during the Great Depression in 1934. But for the second-straight summer, Tuhey Pool sits idle, closed by the city over a combination of concerns--the pool's drains no longer meet federal safety standards; the pool has an underground leak of undetermined size; and most importantly, the city's budget crisis makes finding financial solutions difficult, if not impossible.
Some in the community have suggested that repairs be done to Tuhey so it can re-open for the summer of 2011. At lease one city official has estimated that could cost as much as $2 million. And even if we found the money to pay for those repairs, all we would be left with is an outdoor, summer-only facility that would be closed nine months a year. I believe such a move would be penny wise but pound foolish.
I take no pleasure in writing it--Tuhey Pool is no longer viable. It is an outdated facility built on an obsolete business model. But that does NOT mean this community has to accept the demise of Tuhey Pool. On the contrary, the people in this community who care about swimming, whether competitive or just dipping your toes into a clean body of water on a hot summer day, CAN create a different outcome.
Here's my dream for Muncie and Delaware County where swimming is concerned--that ALL of the swimming programs in this community, intercollegiate, high school and club, team up with other stakeholders (learn-to-swim and wellness programs and recreational swimmers) to build a NEW TUHEY POOL WITH A RETRACTABLE ROOF. Before you scoff, check out what similar pools at Colgate University, Hendrix College, and at a city park in Biloxi, Mississippi have done for their communities.
Ours would be a 50-meter by 25-yard pool with moveable bulkheads, which would allow for everything from the highest level competitions to casual cooling off on hot summer days. Ball State's teams could train and host their dual meets in what I'll call the New Tuhey and perhaps even host the Mid-American Conference championship meet. The county's four high school swimming programs (Muncie Central, Muncie South, Delta and Yorktown) could train and hold meets there, and possibly host a high school sectional or diving regional. Swim clubs (CARD, DAC and Yorktown) could practice and compete there, holding large invitationals and divisional meets that attract hundreds of participants. And such a facility would give learn-to-swim and wellness programs a centrally located place where they could operate.
The New Tuhey that I envision would use solar panels in the retractable roof and geothermal wells drilled into the ground to provide the power needed to operate the structure. The retractable roof would allow us to be in business 365 days a year, a critical factor for the financial side of the proposal. Such a facility would generate revenues EVERY DAY. We'd never lose a day to cool, wet summer weather. We'd simply close the roof and keep going. And when we get to Labor Day, we'd stay open instead of shutting down operations until the next Memorial Day.
My dream calls for the New Tuhey to be built right where the current Tuhey Pool is. The location is one of the major gateways to downtown Muncie, it's adjacent to linear parks, and its presence could trigger other economic development activity in the area, especially if we get creative with a TIF district or similar funding designation.
Perhaps best of all, developing such a project would show the rest of the world that Muncie and Delaware County are progressive, creative, cooperative, and a bold community that dares to aim high instead of accepting the status quo.
This problem is ours, but so are the opportunities for finding solutions. We are limited only by our ability to be creative, our willingness to persevere, and our determination to do what is best for the people of Muncie and Delaware County.
Let's do something people will be proud of for the next 50 years!
Many of those swimmers and their friends spent their summers training and competing in Tuhey Pool, a facility that opened during the Great Depression in 1934. But for the second-straight summer, Tuhey Pool sits idle, closed by the city over a combination of concerns--the pool's drains no longer meet federal safety standards; the pool has an underground leak of undetermined size; and most importantly, the city's budget crisis makes finding financial solutions difficult, if not impossible.
Some in the community have suggested that repairs be done to Tuhey so it can re-open for the summer of 2011. At lease one city official has estimated that could cost as much as $2 million. And even if we found the money to pay for those repairs, all we would be left with is an outdoor, summer-only facility that would be closed nine months a year. I believe such a move would be penny wise but pound foolish.
I take no pleasure in writing it--Tuhey Pool is no longer viable. It is an outdated facility built on an obsolete business model. But that does NOT mean this community has to accept the demise of Tuhey Pool. On the contrary, the people in this community who care about swimming, whether competitive or just dipping your toes into a clean body of water on a hot summer day, CAN create a different outcome.
Here's my dream for Muncie and Delaware County where swimming is concerned--that ALL of the swimming programs in this community, intercollegiate, high school and club, team up with other stakeholders (learn-to-swim and wellness programs and recreational swimmers) to build a NEW TUHEY POOL WITH A RETRACTABLE ROOF. Before you scoff, check out what similar pools at Colgate University, Hendrix College, and at a city park in Biloxi, Mississippi have done for their communities.
Ours would be a 50-meter by 25-yard pool with moveable bulkheads, which would allow for everything from the highest level competitions to casual cooling off on hot summer days. Ball State's teams could train and host their dual meets in what I'll call the New Tuhey and perhaps even host the Mid-American Conference championship meet. The county's four high school swimming programs (Muncie Central, Muncie South, Delta and Yorktown) could train and hold meets there, and possibly host a high school sectional or diving regional. Swim clubs (CARD, DAC and Yorktown) could practice and compete there, holding large invitationals and divisional meets that attract hundreds of participants. And such a facility would give learn-to-swim and wellness programs a centrally located place where they could operate.
The New Tuhey that I envision would use solar panels in the retractable roof and geothermal wells drilled into the ground to provide the power needed to operate the structure. The retractable roof would allow us to be in business 365 days a year, a critical factor for the financial side of the proposal. Such a facility would generate revenues EVERY DAY. We'd never lose a day to cool, wet summer weather. We'd simply close the roof and keep going. And when we get to Labor Day, we'd stay open instead of shutting down operations until the next Memorial Day.
My dream calls for the New Tuhey to be built right where the current Tuhey Pool is. The location is one of the major gateways to downtown Muncie, it's adjacent to linear parks, and its presence could trigger other economic development activity in the area, especially if we get creative with a TIF district or similar funding designation.
Perhaps best of all, developing such a project would show the rest of the world that Muncie and Delaware County are progressive, creative, cooperative, and a bold community that dares to aim high instead of accepting the status quo.
This problem is ours, but so are the opportunities for finding solutions. We are limited only by our ability to be creative, our willingness to persevere, and our determination to do what is best for the people of Muncie and Delaware County.
Let's do something people will be proud of for the next 50 years!
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