Although Greg Weitzel is leaving in 7 days, before he leaves, he is attempting to bully a compliant City Council into destroying our swimming pool system. Rather than simply build some ramps and railings to comply with new ADA regulations, like pools all over the country,
Weitzel's plan* is to close 2 pools, and turn the other ones into water parks. Although CedarBeach Pool has served the city for 60 years, he wants to move it up the hill and add water park features. He wants to close Irving Pool, the only one on the east side, and turn the spot into a spray park. He wants to close Fountain Pool, which serves the inter city children, whose mothers don't have vans to drive them to CedarBeach. He spent $80,000 on a consultant from Indianapolis for these recommendations, which could have paid for the handicapped ramps at several of the pools. Let me be blunt. Before coming to Allentown, Weitzel built a destination playground in Lewisburg. He established a relationship with the manufactures of playground and water park equipment. Much of his accomplishments in Allentown were purchased from their catalogs. Allentown should wish him well, and have him take those catalogs with him.
*
Devon Lash/The Morning Call/May 3,2012
old postcard: Fountain Park Pool
Now is the time for center city mothers to demand this not take place.This is definitely an issue for Alan Jennings to step in and protest Children will use the Lehigh River. Weitzel wants to finish a promise before packing. Where's the Mack Boulevard dog park?
ReplyDeleteWater parks are popular with municipalities because it limits their legal liabilities, while a pool is a HUGE liability.
ReplyDeleteThe $80K consultation fee is a joke - didn't that $80K buy what was supposed to already be Weitzel's job? (That is, making recommendations for the city's parks and rec facilities.) What another fine example of waste and fraud in this city.
momma, ironically, weitzel recommended deepening and adding diving boards to the remaining pools, talk about liability!!!! i hope that council will simply add ramps and continue the pool system that they enjoyed as children. perhaps one pool could have a diving board, if deemed desirable. children motivated to practice that sport would have to travel to the chosen pool.
ReplyDeleteWhat nerve.
ReplyDeleteA very simple solution: maintain and manage what we already have.
ReplyDeleteI think the center city mothers are too busy getting all excited about the arrival of the American Hockey League's Phantoms to Chairman Pawlowski's magnificent $ 220.0 million dollar Palace of Sport to be concerned about some rinky dink pools.
ReplyDeleteSeriously.
Does one ever see any of them writing letters to the editor expressing concern for Big Government's massive spending on an ice hockey rink, the obvious lack of Transparency, the obvious Crony Capitalism or any of the other notorious shenanigins involved with the NIZ?
No!
Therefore, it is very hard for me to not conclude that the center city mothers are all on board with the compassionate Chairman and his benevolent band of Democrats on the Rubber Stamp Council of Apparatchiks providing the City With No (Spending) Limts such wonderful Transformation.
Shaibu.
VIKTOR TIKHONOV
I like much of the plan to be honest but closing Irving Pool is an outrage. I hope it does not happen.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if we could reopen Fountain pool too but Joran does serve many Center City residents already.
Center City mothers writing letters to the editor? Surely not to the Morning Call. Usually one has to first subscribe to or buy a newspaper, and it helps to read and write English. It might sound harsh but that's one of the major reasone newspapers are dying: those in the heart of their circulation areas simply don't think they have a stake in the community. They just head to the mailbox for their weekly check.
ReplyDelete@8:12, the majority of the english as a second language residents don't receive entitlement checks. however, even the english speaking, working people don't have a say in this community. if you haven't noticed, city council approves 100% of the mayor's initiatives, regardless of public sentiment
ReplyDelete@8:12, i misused the ESL term in my previous reply, but will not host a commentary on entitlements on this post. this blog serves as an adjunct to my community interests, and i will involve myself with the pool issue.
ReplyDelete