“Schroeder South,” a wing of the massive Midwest powerhouse Schroeder program, is in danger of losing one of their training sites after an article posted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online on Wednesday.
In the article, Milwaukee County Parks Director John Dargle Jr. said that four county-run swimming pools “may be targeted for closure” in the county’s 2014 budget.
The four pools cited are Noyes Park, Pulaski Park, Jackson Park, and Grobschmidt Park, with Pulaski being the one used by Schroeder South (the Schroeder primary program trains at the beautiful Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center).
The plan is to close those four pools and instead spend the money on other parts of the park that are more heavily used.
Dargle told J.S. Online that costs greatly exceeded revenues at the Pulaski pool, which is what makes it a target for closure, in addition to $4.2 million in repairs needed between Pulaski and Noyes, the two in the worst shape.
Last year, the Moody Park pool was closed and replaced with a “splash pad”.
Two members of the county government voiced strong opposition, including Supervisor John Weishan Junior and County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, which has been a popular sentiment historically in closing Milwaukee’s pools. In 2009, County Executive Scott Walker (now Wisconsin’s governor) tried to write Pulaski pool out of his budget, but the County Board overrode his decision, using their veto powers.
The Schroeder South program began in August of 2012, and according to Schroeder’s Head Age Group coach Harmilee Cousin III, that south side program now has over 100 members, which brings the entire team to over 350 swimmers.
Thanks to a multi-million$ renovation over the past fews years, WSAC looks great to me! A lot of the expense, as is the case for all older facilities, is behind the scenes. Filters, pumps, roof, etc. This is the only class A long course facility in the state and also attracts divers from the entire region. Credit the hard work by Dave Anderson and Matt Miller for not only producing a championship level swim club, but saving a very important facility for future generations.
On the contrary Peter..Walter Schroeder IS a beautiful pool! I know you are used to swim-up bars and valet parking but the actual pool is a gem! Great program and an innovative support
group along with good coaches has kept it as one of the premier programs in the Midwest for
several decades. Lets hope they can apply the same tactics to keep their “South” program
viable.
“Pools not economically feasible” this has been the drone of those who cannot think past first base.
If simple cash flow was the only metric used to evaluate a public facility we should close all the public libraries they never cash flow well…. bettor yet close all the public schools we could save all that tax money wasted on uncooperative little minds…. we should subdivide all that valuable real estate tied up is useless public parks and ball fields.
The fact of the matter is that a pool is an essential part of a community it is part of the fabric of the community just like a library, school a park or a ball field.
I would… Read more »
The only issue I see with your arguments, Swimdad, is that while a pool is a part of a community, and viewing cashflow as the only means of success is quite narrow-minded, we have to be real about what we’re comparing. Public Education is not recreational… it receives funding not just at a community level, but also a state, federal, and sometimes sponsored corporate level. The same can be said about libraries as well. No matter how important it is to an individual or a community, swimming and use of a pool remains an optional, recreational activity. I believe anyone that has ever had any love of swimming or swimming in a pool should always fight for other options, increased… Read more »
And as an aside, Verona Aquatic Club, near Madison, ceased operations this year for lack of pool space to train. The private pool they had access to closed, and time and space at the only public pool in town became too limited to continue.
You might remember a fella by the name of Neil Walker, who got his start at VAC.
WSAC ain’t beautiful, come on! It is an indoor 50 meter pool, with good depth, and is a fast tank. World records have been set in that pool. That being said, indoor pools of any kind are an expensive proposition in the upper Midwest. Publicly funded indoor pools are really hard to pay for. They will never cashflow, and must be subsidized.
Peter – I think all fast 50 meter pools are beautiful. Then again, I’m more of the “swim nerd” type than the “swim artist” type.