Below is a Letter to the Editor –
Crookston Pool Closure: Why the decision to close the Crookston Community Swimming Pool must not be allowed to stand
While we acknowledge that the City of Crookston is in a difficult place in their finances, we maintain that the City Council’s decisions to close the swimming pool and eliminate one sheet of ice at the Crookston Sports Center are not appropriate–even unwise– choices to make to balance the city budget. We offer several points to support this position:
– Crookston residents have made widespread objections to closure of the pool and/or the process to make that decision.
240 Crookston residents from all city wards signed petitions asking that the council decision be vacated. Those petitions were received and receipted by the City Clerk on Tues, Nov. 12, 2024.
That same day, Nov. 12, 2024 an online petition that included nearly 1100 signatures was presented and receipted by the City Clerk.
No acknowledgement was made of the petitions or of the concern of over 1300 citizens, nor was the subject of pool closure added to the agenda of the City Council at the meeting of Nov. 12, 2024 nor in the budget meeting that followed.
-Information about the pool financials and useage is seriously incomplete.
The income and expense report dated 10/31/24 understates income from the pool, perhaps by more than $20,000.
Likewise, pool useage through the period was strong:
3,137 swimmers generated $15,865 in revenue.
119 monthly members brought in nearly $4,300– and does not count insurance billings that would be in the thousands.
To date, 185 children have participated in swim lessons at $70 per child.
Club Kid brought 55 kids to the pool each week as part of the summer program.
Local parochial schools brought their students for fun days at the pool.
It is true that pool useage has been down since a September fire that closed the pool from Sept. 13 until October 14. Reopening saw significantly limited hours due to the administration plan to close the pool. The hours of operation from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays does not allow opportunity for children and families to swim. Saturday open swim was only recently added after 8 weeks of closure, and without widespread marketing. In spite of the failure to notify, kids came to swim: nearly 50 on each of the two open Saturdays.
-Both the swimming pool and the arena have vulnerabilities that have been exploited.
The physical condition of the pool has been catastrophized, allowing for little or no serious discussion about options for repair. Additionally, the voices of trained local experts have been minimized without respect to background or experience.
Similarly, useage at the arena has been presented as underutilized without regard to the periodic nature of various participatory activities.
-The council decisions have shown no regard for the impact of closure on the social, cultural or demographic future of the City of Crookston. Decision makers need not lose sight of the fact that water time is fun time for people of all ages and all abilities. The physical, mental and social benefits of the pool cannot be understated and documented evidence supports that position.
-Perhaps most concerning has been the council’s lack of foresight for future needs to balance the budget. Will Parks and Recreation be again the easy target for cuts in 2025?– because more cuts will surely be needed to address a multi-year condition. Will the Red Lake River be roped off for swimming for those who have no lake home? Will cars be dodging street hockey players who have no ice time? Or will the streets and stores of Crookston be hauntingly quiet and we wonder “what happened to the kids and the young couple who used to live down the street?”
Cutting community programs for kids and families is a short term solution that may eventually devalue the local housing market, underserve our children and put Crookston in an unattractive position for future growth and development.
At the end of the day, wouldn’t it be better to explore nontax revenues from city resources before slashing and eliminating those options? The Crookston Community Swimming Pool has significant, and largely untapped potential for producing revenue. Clean up city finances, but not by cutting programs that serve children and families and everyone in between. City taxpayers are watching the response.
Don’t close the Crookston Swimming Pool,
Carol Gregg and a host of Crookston Citizens
