HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-01-26 Public Comment - B. Seal - Request for a new pool_2From:Becky Seal
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Request for a new pool
Date:Thursday, October 1, 2026 5:53:27 PM
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> Dear Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Commissioners,
>
> Please put a new public pool before Bozeman voters as soon as possible. I recognize that a bond means a
consequential decision about taxes, but it is also a decision about whether the public swimming facilities we
inherited can meet the needs of the city we have become.
>
> Bogert Pool was built in 1939, when Bozeman had about 8,665 residents at the 1940 census. The indoor Swim
Center was built in 1974, shortly after the 1970 census counted 18,670 residents. The Census Bureau estimates
58,814 residents in 2025, more than 3 times the 1970 population.
>
> My son is a competitive swimmer, and our family knows how much confidence, discipline and friendship the
swimming sport can build. However, this is not a request for one sport. It is a request for a place where children
can learn water-safety skills, families can be active together, and young people can spend time in a healthy,
supervised setting after school and on the weekends.
>
> The safety need is real: the CDC's age-adjusted drowning death rate in Montana was 2.32 per 100,000 people
annually in 2018-2021, compared with 1.31 nationally (this is approximately 77% higher). The CDC states formal
swimming lessons can reduce drowning risk, though lessons never replace close supervision.
>
> There is a broader health return, too. The CDC recommends at least 60 minutes of physical activity for children
6-17; it associates children's physical activity with better attention and memory, lower risk of depression, strong
endurance and improved aerobic fitness. A pool gives residents another way to pursue those benefits, whether they
are learning to swim, exercising or competing.
>
> Access should not depend on which high school a student attends. My understanding is that Bozeman High
students have a swimming opportunity through gym class, while Gallatin High students do not. That means half the
town doesn't have access to built-in swim lessons. I ask the commission to work with the school district to verify
and address that difference. Every student should have a meaningful opportunity to learn this valuable skill, not
only the families that can arrange and pay for lessons outside of school.
>
> Our swimmers also lack a usable indoor 25-yard course for high-school home meets (I guess we may be able to
lean on Livingston to have one closer to home, yet this might always be the case). Please make that capability part
of any new-facility plan. If a new pool cannot move forward now, please evaluate a new or replacement bulkhead,
expand morning and weekend access where staffing permits, and publish current pool hours and utilization so the
community can assess what more the existing facility could offer.
>
> A new pool would serve far more than today's swimmers. Please give voters the opportunity to decide whether
Bozeman is ready to invest in water safety, equitable access and a healthy gathering place for all (the next
generation all the way to our senior citizens).
>
> Sincerely,
> Becky Seal
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