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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-22-21 Public Comment - M. Leach - Swim CenterFrom:agenda@bozeman.net To:Agenda Subject:Thank you for your public comment. Date:Saturday, May 22, 2021 7:02:08 AM A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted. Form Name:Public Comment Form Date & Time:05/22/2021 7:01 AM Response #:1094 Submitter ID:38579 IP address:71.15.201.25 Time to complete:19 min. , 46 sec. Survey Details Page 1 Public comment may be submitted via the form below, or by any of the following options. Public comment may also be given at any public meeting. Email: agenda@bozeman.net Mail to: Attn: City Commission PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771 First Name Michael Last Name Leach Email Address michael@beaudacious.com Phone Number 4062242677 Comments Dear Bozeman City Council, As a longtime (decade+) noon lap swimmer at the Swim Center and father of a Barracuda who has trained regularly at the Swim Center for six + years, I’m grateful for the opportunity to share our experience. For starters, Elizabeth can attest to the fact that I spoke up early, often and loudly in defense of her and the Bozeman Swim Center’s decision in 2017 to put in the bulkhead—attending meetings and writing a supportive letter to the editor in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (published October 3, 2017). I fully recognize that these are challenging times and that the Swim Center is finding it difficult to secure adequate staffing, but this problem isn’t unique to the Swim Center. Countless local businesses are experiencing the same staffing shortage. I’ve had the opportunity to swim all across the West and I can echo the words of far more experienced swimmers than I when I say that the Swim Center is not just a strange pool (it’s dark, has inadequate ventilation, no lane lines for noon lap swim and no markings on the bottom of the pool for widths), it’s poorly run and operated. Many of these solutions are simple fixes. When it comes to lane lines and markings on the bottom of the pool, we’re talking about safety issues that simply must be addressed. The fact is clear: the City of Bozeman is failing the Bozeman swim community. It has for years now, and it’s only getting worse—and it’s failing our largest local swim club who’ve long been the foundation of Bozeman’s youth swimming culture. No other public pool in the West has such limited hours and small windows for lap swimmers. Like many other local swimmers, I've all but given up on the Swim Center. But as a father to a daughter who not only thrives in the pool, but thrives with her fellow teammates and the Barracuda coaching staff, the fact that she and other kids like her will now be deprived of time in the water, time with her team, time around a brilliant coaching staff—time to give our kids a fair shake at competing against other swimmers across the state—due to the City of Bozeman's continued failure to this vibrant and growing swim community, is simply unacceptable. Along with several of the swim coaches, in October of 2020, I had the opportunity to sit down with Elizabeth, Mitch and Jeff Mihelich to share my experience, frustrations and concerns regarding a number of issues at the Swim Center. I must say, the response I received was not only unprofessional, at times it became indignant and definitely unbecoming of city employees. All we are seeking here—as Barracuda parents, lap swimmers, and tax paying members of this community —are common sense solutions to problems that have arisen. As far as the Barracudas are concerned, they’ve offered a number of viable options that would allow our kids to continue swimming safely, while continuing their development as community members, in and out of the water. If there is one user group the city and Swim Center should be bending over backwards to accommodate it should be this one, our largest youth swimming club. Personally, while we are Bozeman residents, we have in the past applied for and received a membership to the Butte Y, simply so we could have a place we can count on; a place where we know we can find numerous windows throughout the day to swim. Like so many decisions at the Swim Center, not opening Bogert to noon lap swimmers for one hour a day last summer made no sense at all. Elizabeth has been given more than enough opportunities to address the many problems at the Swim Center; yet we, as a swim community rarely, if ever, see any progress. Now that the City Managers have been looped into one of Bozeman’s most iconic facilities in disrepair, it is my hope that you will make the changes necessary to support our kids, our elders, our athletes in training, and all those who would benefit from greater access to the only public pool in town. Respectfully, Michael leach If you would like to submit additional documents (.pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .gif, .jpg, .png, .rtf, .txt) along with your comment, you may alternately address agenda@bozeman.net directly to ensure receipt of all information. Thank you, City Of Bozeman This is an automated message generated by Granicus. Please do not reply directly to this email.