Email to the Largo Mayor and CommissionersDear Mayor Gerard and Largo City Council Members, I am forwarding you an article below from today's St. Pete Times 5/12/10 about pool closures in the city of St. Pete that sounds remarkably similar to the situation in the city of Largo. Mayor Foster proposed closing 4 of 9 city pools for lack of revenue and declining attendance. He proposed filling several of the pools in with dirt so they could be used as recreation ctr. or parks. Four of the salvaged pools would be transformed into water parks with features that would draw crowds willing to pay $8 for two hour sessions. Sounds familiar doesn't it? On Tuesday, a majority of the council members said they didn't support the mayor's plans to close pools or charge higher fees. They suggested more thought be put into such drastic measures citing that "to close the pools and make them less accessible and to charge more $ just hurts families who are most in need in the community at a time of great recession." Several members did not understand the logic of spending $$ to build water parks when money is tight and there is no room for mistakes if the pools did not draw huge crowds and $$". I applaud their decision to support the citizens, neighborhoods and youth of their community and urge the Largo City Council to follow suit. The swimming and diving community stands ready to rally around supporting these facilities and has many ideas on how to generate additional revenues. Please consider all options before taking drastic measures like filling in city pools with dirt or turning them into water parks. Thank you for your consideration on this issue. Sharon Steinmann
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Ms. Steinmann: Your e-mail has been received and is being forwarded to the Mayor and Commission for their information and consideration during the upcoming budget deliberations.
Shirley Frick
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