Recent reports out of the CA Board of Directors and the Dorsey Search Community Association indicate gathering support for keeping the Dorsey Hall swimming pool open throughout the year. This idea was brought to the Columbia Association through an act of serendipity. CA sent three employees on a fact finding mission to Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the visit was to gather data on fitness centers in a downtown environment. This data would then be used in the design of the programs and amenities for the soon to be constructed downtown fitness center in the Rouse Building.
While in Denver, the CA delegation noted two facilities that had outdoor pools in use during the month of February. To their credit, they asked for additional information about the use and programming of these outdoor pools. Upon returning to Columbia, they did some research and presented the idea of heating the Dorsey Hall pool to help alleviate the pool usage demand during the winter months.
Let me go on record and say I am not opposed to heating an outdoor pool during the winter. However, this project is currently more of a concept than a finished proposal, and one of the things that concerns me is the timing/phasing of this proposed amenity.
One of the most frustrating aspects of this discussion has been a lack of information. Specifically, there has been no clear communication from the Columbia Association regarding when another indoor pool will be constructed. Taking a big picture view, the Columbia Association has a lot of capital projects in the pipeline. Some of the larger projects are well known: the Hobbits Glen Golf Course Clubhouse, a possible new corporate office in Symphony Woods, and the Downtown Fitness/Wellness facility in the Rouse Building. In addition to those projects, CA is also going to renovate the Supreme Sports Arena, install signage along and near the 95-mile path system, and a large number of smaller projects related to regulatory compliance. Somewhere in this mix is the funding for an additional indoor pool.
Based on statements from CA staff, the next indoor pool seems to be out a few years. That is not because CA has said that a new indoor pool will be constructed four, seven, or ten years from now. What CA has said is that the heating of Dorsey Search pool will be an interim step until funds are available to construct an indoor pool. CA could help itself and the community by clearly stating what year they intend to construct an indoor pool.
From my perspective, if CA states now that they intend to construct an indoor pool in 2015. and that date shifts, CA would be better off than repeatedly stating the Dorsey Search pool heating system is an interim step without defining the term “interim.”
The aquatics community needs to hear that a new indoor pool remains a priority, and that there is a plan to fulfill that priority; even if the timeline is longer than most anticipated. The current dialogue from CA fosters uncertainty and doubt.
While in Denver, the CA delegation noted two facilities that had outdoor pools in use during the month of February. To their credit, they asked for additional information about the use and programming of these outdoor pools. Upon returning to Columbia, they did some research and presented the idea of heating the Dorsey Hall pool to help alleviate the pool usage demand during the winter months.
Let me go on record and say I am not opposed to heating an outdoor pool during the winter. However, this project is currently more of a concept than a finished proposal, and one of the things that concerns me is the timing/phasing of this proposed amenity.
One of the most frustrating aspects of this discussion has been a lack of information. Specifically, there has been no clear communication from the Columbia Association regarding when another indoor pool will be constructed. Taking a big picture view, the Columbia Association has a lot of capital projects in the pipeline. Some of the larger projects are well known: the Hobbits Glen Golf Course Clubhouse, a possible new corporate office in Symphony Woods, and the Downtown Fitness/Wellness facility in the Rouse Building. In addition to those projects, CA is also going to renovate the Supreme Sports Arena, install signage along and near the 95-mile path system, and a large number of smaller projects related to regulatory compliance. Somewhere in this mix is the funding for an additional indoor pool.
Based on statements from CA staff, the next indoor pool seems to be out a few years. That is not because CA has said that a new indoor pool will be constructed four, seven, or ten years from now. What CA has said is that the heating of Dorsey Search pool will be an interim step until funds are available to construct an indoor pool. CA could help itself and the community by clearly stating what year they intend to construct an indoor pool.
From my perspective, if CA states now that they intend to construct an indoor pool in 2015. and that date shifts, CA would be better off than repeatedly stating the Dorsey Search pool heating system is an interim step without defining the term “interim.”
The aquatics community needs to hear that a new indoor pool remains a priority, and that there is a plan to fulfill that priority; even if the timeline is longer than most anticipated. The current dialogue from CA fosters uncertainty and doubt.