By TERRY FOXXI am not a golfer. I don’t play baseball, and I don’t ice skate. I won’t use the White Rock Splash Pad. I don’t have children at home anymore. But I do use the Larry Walkup Therapy Pool. So why would I vote yes for the Rec Bond? Because I believe that to have the type of community that is attractive, we must invest in it. Beyond that children are the future and providing places for them to learn, exercise, and enjoy is a life-long gift. And adults are healthier and happier if they have physical outlets that bring them joy and pleasure.
I said I use the Therapy Pool multiple times a week. One investment, in the Rec Bond, I feel strongly about is a place for children to learn to swim. This is not only a life skill but it is a safety skill. And it should not be in a Therapy Pool that is over 4.2 ft deep at the shallow end! Presently, the use of the Therapy Pool for those of us doing therapy is limited. All other times, children gravitate to the pool because it is warmer. It is very hard to do therapy when there are children jumping, screaming, and splashing all around. At the designated hour given for adults only, sometimes there are as many as 8 people in that small pool which is made even smaller by a tot-dock attached to one side for child safety. Other times there may be only 1, 2 or 3 adults.
As a teen, I was a life-guard and I admire the tenacity of the guards and their ability to work with the children teaching swimming in a pool where the child can’t stand up. The Kiddie pool will not only provide a place for children to play safely but also a place where they can learn to swim in a safe and reasonable environment. It will be warmer and “their place.”
There are private pools but they operate only approximately three months a year. Membership is expensive and out of the reach of some families. Our membership maintenance fee for an out-door pool, we bought when our children were young, is over $400 for a short period (3 months). I get a year’s membership at Larry Walkup for $250 (senior), $320 (adult). An adult can get a 3 month pass for $94 at Larry Walkup. My taxes don’t support the private pool but do the public pool. In addition, the out-door pool has the disadvantage of weather. During the monsoon season, lightning empties the pool often.
I am not a golfer. I don’t play baseball. I don’t ice skate. But I do use the pool. It has been my life-line to health, just as these other facilities are a life-line to health for others. But beyond all that, Los Alamos and White Rock were great places to raise our family. The library in White Rock, buses, and other amenities were not available when my children were young, and how much easier would it have been.
I want to see White Rock and Los Alamos remain a great place for everyone, particularly new families. Agreed the Rec Bond will raise our taxes $12-25/month, but that is an investment in our community with facilities that will be used by many different people. In recent years, we have invested in new facilities like the libraries, pond, High School, a Nature Center, Senior Center, and Youth centers, etc. Old unsightly war-time buildings have been removed. In a recent visit, my daughter, who now lives elsewhere, was delighted to see the quality and appearance of her childhood community.
Let’s continue to invest in our community for a better future. I am voting yes for the Rec Bond.