<< Previous   of   Next >> Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) Dramatic sunlight hits the pool as Memmi Ochi, of Lake Forest Park, swims laps, Friday, Feb. 13, at Fircrest Pool in Shoreline. Ochi said she swims at the pool daily. Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) Joanne Hjort (center), of Ballard, gets help out of the pool from a lift, and a couple of helpers, following a free-swim session, Friday, Feb. 13, at Fircrest Pool in Shoreline. The pool may soon be closed.

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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Pool could close to save state money

Fircrest swimming, therapy pools may shut down as early as March 15 as part of an attempt to close a $5.7 shortfall in the state's budget

By Amy Daybert
Enterprise editor

Shoreline

The Fircrest swimming pool and therapy pool could close as early as March 15, pool staff recently learned.

Both facilities were originally targeted to be closed in Governor Christine Gregoire's 2009-2011 budget yet to be adopted by the 2009 state Legislature.

The closure would save the state approximately $500,000 according to Asha Signh, superintendent of Fircrest School. The proposal is part of an attempt to close a $5.7 billion shortfall in the state's budget.

"At this point we are looking at closing both the pools and locker rooms," Sighn said Feb. 13. "A decision about whether the rest of building would stay open or not has not been made yet."

A gym, program areas for Fircrest clients, a workout room for staff, and a beauty shop are also located in the Fircrest campus Activities Building on 15th Avenue Northeast.

"The pool closure was part of governors' budget for next biennium we were told and we also made a decision to close it sooner than later in the fiscal year," Signh said.

A decision to close the pool within a month doesn't come as a big surprise to aquatic coordinator Rachid Romdane.

"It's not a surprise in this economy," he said. "People are disappointed. I'm expecting the pool to be closed. But the last time they were going to close the whole (Fircrest campus) and we're still here. I'm thinking positive."

The pools are kept at higher temperatures than most pools -- the lap pool stays around 86 degrees and the therapy pool is maintained at 95 degrees, Romdane said. Both are used by Fircrest clients, community members, group home residents, Special Olympics athletes, the Shoreline School District and Seattle Public Schools. The pool has been rented for birthday parties and Baptisms.

"I know (for) lots of people this is the only pool they use," Romdane said. "Physically they can't, I know they don't go anywhere else. Lots of people depend on this pool for their special needs."

On average, a greater number of community members use the pool than Fircrest residents. There are 1,500 swims per month from the surrounding community according to Romdane. The number can rise to 2,000 swims a month when the use of Fircrest clients and staff is taken into consideration.

Shoreline resident Joan Huber has depended on the unique qualities of the Fircrest pool through different medical treatments for the past several years, she said.

"I get my major exercise from (this) swimming pool," she said following a workout. "I can't find it in my heart to really commit to the fact it may be closing ... It just seems like too great a tragedy."

Some swimming pools do not have the right equipment so those with special needs can swim, she said. Some portable staircases are too deep for some while weight limits on special lifts are not always suitable for others she knows.

When Fircrest Pool was closed for maintenance last year, she took her exercise routine to a different pool.

"I felt like I was in the way," she said. "It wasn't the same."

Ballard resident Cora Kouf learned about the Fircrest Pool by word of mouth. Though she lives only two blocks from a pool in her neighborhood she uses the Fircrest Pool twice a week because the water is kept at a warmer temperature.

"Getting the exercise is the only thing that can help my back," she said. "I've already checked out temperatures at other pools and it's all too cold for me."

She worries how others who she sees frequently swimming at Fircrest Pool will be treated when they move to different pools.

"Most people are not going to swim with people from Fircrest Pool," she said. "Other people are going to make it tough … I know because that's what I've seen. You get someone in there that's different and others they make it tough on them."

Fircrest pool staff understand those who use the facility often have unique needs, according to Romdane. Closing the pool will make it very difficult for those who use the facility to find a new swimming routine he said.

"If a special population comes here yelling or throwing things we understand," he said. "In the city pool they won't even let them swim. Some probably won't go anywhere else. They have their routine or they can't join the Y because it's too expensive. For some, it's the distance to another pool or their age. Sometimes it's difficult to adjust to a new place."

Finding a suitable pool is a challenge Ballard resident Joanne Hjort faced after the pool she used for thirty years closed in Lake City. She began using the Fircrest Pool almost a year ago and meets twice a week to exercise with others with Multiple Sclerosis at the pool.

"I meet here on Tuesday mornings with five or six regular members," she said. "This means the world to me. It's the only exercise I get."

Closing the pool would be devastating for many who use the facility, including the severely physically and mentally disabled children she sees use the pool every week.

"You just can't believe how much pleasure the kids get out of it and what wonderful adults there are here working with all of us," Hjort said. "The staff here and trained in making this possible for people with disabilities especially."

A swimming pool at Rainier School in Buckley is also slated to close along with the entire Yakima Valley School in Selah. It is too soon to tell if any of disabled residents of Yakima Valley School will be relocated to Fircrest School, Signh said.