The evening started out promising enough. As reported by Eve Pearlman in the Alameda Patch (link below), Mayor Beverly Johnson and Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant acknowledged that the city was partly to blame for the pool closures and would help find a way to help re-open them.
"There's no question, having looked at some of the documents today myself for the first time, that the city has been the point of contact for a long time on these pools," said Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant.
Indeed, somebody really dropped the ball. But even after a long array of speakers that included swimming pool experts and scholar athletes, the school board still voted to hire a new Southern California consultant to perpetually study the problem instead of fixing the pools.
AUSD business manager Robert Shemwell gave an update on the pools and described the different scenarios, ranging from "very low impact" to "very high impact." Shemwell stated that it could be as simple as getting a certification in the next 3-5 days and said we could subscribe for updates at the AUSD website but we haven't been able to locate those feeds yet. He did say that the school board is committed to getting the pool re-opened.
Rod Smith, a masters swimmer whose day job involves managing hundreds of pools for housing complexes throughout California and the west coast, explained how he had to make sure all of these pools had to pass muster (for the new anti-entrapment laws) or he would lose his job. Not once did a pool have to close and the modifications cost at most $15,000. The BOE just voted to spend $10,000 on a study that inevitably just leads to more work. The consulting firm (Aquatic Design Group) is in the business of building large swimming complexes.
As one speaker said.... this isn't rocket science. It's plumbing!
Bob Ploss, who is an architect for East Bay Parks and Recreation and has been involved in construction management for 30 years, was bewildered about the need for 3 different consulting firms to do the work of one. He also wanted to know who the project manager is -- if there is one. According to Mr. Ploss, this looks like a bad case of the blind leading the blind. If there is no project manager, we can easily be over-billed. Where is the accountability?
Other speakers included Alameda alumni, current students, swim team parents, coaches, and masters swimmers who expressed the negative impact the pool closures are having on their lives. High school aged swimmers are trucking down to Chabot College at 5 am to get water time. Young Islanders are squeezing into 2 lanes at the Harbor Bay Club (15 kids per lane? not fun.) The masters don't have nearly enough room for their fitness programs. And of course the high school water polo teams have had a tough time getting to practice for the crucial part of their season.
So further down the rabbit hole we go. Why does the school board vote to approve a $10,000 consulting contract when their business manager just said this could be "as simple as getting a certification" in the next 3-5 days? Why are there 3 consulting firms to do the same work? Is there a project manager and if so... who? If not, why not?
The immediate needs of hundreds of swimmers seem to fall on deaf ears with this school board. Aquatics Fan wants to remind that there is an election next week. Please vote accordingly.
