From: Melissa Miller
To: Clerk
Subject: Closure of ISC, File# 24-90
Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2024 11:11:23 PM
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I drafted this message last week, shortly after the ISC was unceremoniously closed. Most of it is still relevant, and all of it is true to the best of my understanding.
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Like many others, I am very disturbed by the sudden closure of the ISC two weeks ago. I’d like to get any useful information about the closure, and any ideas about what we abandoned lap swimmers can do to restore access to the pool. (The logic of closing the entire facility to swimmers because the roof over the bleachers is insecure escapes me. No swimmer I know goes up there—we’re in the water!) The City’s claim that opening Mary Gomez pool provides equivalent services to the many thousands of swimmers who normally use ISC is simply false. The ISC is 50 meters long, with 10 long-course lanes, by 25 yards wide, with perhaps 24 short-course lanes. All the lanes are broad enough for people to circle-swim to share a lane, The facility is fully wheelchair accessible. The dressing rooms can accommodate disabled persons, and are appropriately heated in winter. There are wheelchair-friendly showers with ADA-compliant fixtures.
By contrast, Mary Gomez pool is just 25 yards long, with 6 narrow lanes. (The narrower lanes make it much harder to share a lane with other swimmers by circling.)
* There are no flags overhead at the ends of the lanes. Already three swimmers have hit their heads on the wall because they can’t know they are at the end when swimming backstroke. One of them bled from his scalp. Other lap swimmers have skinned their joints by doing flip turns in the shallow (2-1/2’ deep) end. * There is a lift chair for the disabled, but it would be impossible for a person in a wheelchair to get to the lift chair because there is a sill, perhaps 4” high, separating the hallway of the dressing room from the pool deck. The torturous path from the dressing room to that sill is too narrow for a wheelchair to navigate. * The showers are unfriendly to a person in a wheelchair. * The floor in the dressing/shower room is dangerously slippery, creating hazards for seniors and people with poor balance. It also drains poorly, so there are puddles.
* This is a pool that clearly was built to be a neighborhood summer-use pool, mostly for kids, and the young and fit.
There is no heat in the dressing room; there is a permanently open high window with a screen, so it’s pretty grim in the winter. A couple of months ago I spotted a tall space heater that had been delivered to the front desk. I don’t know where it went, but it didn’t go into our dressing room! (All my comments here apply to the women’s side; I have no information about the men’s side, but I imagine it is a mirror of the women's.) The Warburton pool, also a neighborhood summer-use pool, comes closer to being ADA-compliant, though the showers don’t meet ADA specifications. The shower room is similarly unheated, with open, screened high windows, and the showers are not ADA compliant. Since the Warburton pool has been closed for some weeks, my memory of the details is less precise. I will say I prefer to go to home to shower because it takes several minutes for hot water to arrive at the shower head.
We have been told there are not enough lifeguards to staff both Mary Gomez and Warburton. Does it really take 6 people, 5 of them sitting indoors looking at their phones, to cover a small pool? Whichever of these pools is intended by the City to substitute for ISC, neither is very satisfactory. (Anybody who wanted to go to the Senior Center has already done so long ago, I think.) Do not misunderstand that we outdoor swimmers would rather give up entirely—Mary Gomez and/or Warburton are better than nothing. For a lot of swimmers, getting into the water is a critical component of our self-care and health maintenance programs. I chatted today with a woman aged 87 who quoted her doctor as saying if she didn’t swim regularly, she would look her age (she truly doesn’t!). If you make it harder, or impossible, for older and disabled residents to swim, you are shortening their lives.
I’m deliberately not addressing the concerns of the young and fit, the SCSC, the Aquamaids, the divers, the would- be Olympians, and so on. I’d like to think they are speaking up on their own behalf. With the Olympics coming soon, our competitors need places to train, and in appropriately sized pools. We older people need the water, too! I also hope the City Council has some grasp of how important the ISC is, to how many people of all sorts in Santa Clara. The City may think the stadium contributes to civic pride—but it’s still “The San Francisco 49ers," but it’s “The Santa Clara International Swim Center," and the long and proud tradition of our swimmers is firmly connected to our city’s name.
Sincerely yours,
Melissa Miller
(Arthritic but still mobile, swimming at ISC for well over 20 years) From: Neeraja Tennety
To: Clerk
Subject: Comments on Closure of George F. Haines International Swim Center Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2024 6:23:43 PM
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Dear City Council Member,
I am writing to bring your attention to the significant impact that the abrupt closure of the ISC (International Swim Center) has had on our community, particularly on our talented athletes and divers who have consistently represented Santa Clara Diving at the national level.
Santa Clara Diving at the ISC has been instrumental in producing top-notch athletes and divers who have gained recognition nationwide. Our Santa Clara Diving club, in particular, has earned a reputation for excellence. The coaches and divers have dedicated countless hours of hard work and commitment to reach the level of competition they currently hold.
However, the sudden closure of the ISC without any alternative options has placed an immense strain on these athletes, especially as we approach the competition season. Without access to a suitable facility, their ability to continue diving is severely compromised. We kindly request your assistance in finding a solution that would allow the diving well at ISC to reopen, enabling our athletes to resume their training and participation in competitions.
The closure of the ISC has not only affected the physical aspect of training but has also dealt a significant blow to the morale and competitiveness of our athletes. These individuals invest 15-18 hours per week at the facility, and their dedication is a source of immense pride for our community.
We understand the challenges and complexities involved in addressing this matter, but we implore you to consider the long-term impact on our athletes and the positive image they bring to our city. By finding a way to reopen the diving well at ISC, we can restore their access to the pool and ensure they can continue pursuing their passion.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We trust in your commitment to our community and your understanding of the importance of supporting our athletes. We eagerly await a positive resolution that will allow our divers to regain their competitive edge and bring honor to our city once again.
Sincerely,
Neeraja Tennety
From: Craig Music
To: Clerk
Cc: Elaine Pun
Subject: Agenda Item #5 Santa Clara International Swim Center Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2024 5:42:34 PM
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Today's meeting is at 6:45 but incorrectly the e-comment has that the meeting is at 5pm and thus closed comments at 4:45, would greatly appreciate to re-open comments. Adding our comment via email but ideally would like to e-comment.
Our family Craig Music, Sean Music and Elaine Pun is part of the Santa Clara Diving Club.
The Santa Clara International Swim Center has been an integral part of our family life and our son's growth and day to day activities with daily trainings. Our social circle heavily revolves around this center. After the closure, our entire community has been broken appart and the club has been forced to plead with high school's for one-off training time building a completely uncertain future. Santa Clara Diving has decades of Legacy and Proud history which is at a real risk of being lost as being without a 'water home base' for a very long time could mean the end of the club. There are no other center that can be accessed easily.
Please please prioritize fixing the location for temporary use while a new center is planned and built.
Thank you!
From: Dana Romalis
To: Clerk
Subject: Agenda item number 5
Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2024 4:54:53 PM
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As the parent of a child in the junior olympic training group of Santa Clara Diving, I have spent countless hours at the international swim center. I have watched not only the divers train, but also the fabulous Aquamaids and Santa Clara swimmers. I've met community members swimming for fitness, children learning to swim, and families from all over the city, state, and country attending swimming and diving competitions.
As a local primary care physician, striving to help folks attain better physical and mental health, the International Swim Center epitomizes what our cities need to be supporting. People of all ages exercising and connecting in person with each other while building community.
Our team has weathered numerous training disruptions over the last 5 years including covid and repeated mechanical failures as the swim center has deteriorated, yet were able to maintain morale and find alternate temporary training locations.
Unfortunately, with the high utilization needed to maintain this level of training, I fear there is no work around this time. There is nowhere else to go (and we have tried everywhere) I speak for this community, for all the kids who will play video games instead of exercise. For the people who will drown because they do not know how to swim.
We speak of needing our kids to learn perseverance, compassion, patience, resilience! Keep the training center open while we come up with a plan for a long term solution. Then let's put our money where our mouth is and build a proper facility.