THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503140112
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Few children frolic in the Chesterfield pool anymore, say city staff, which has recommended closing it.
The outdoor pool, open during summer months, is off Westminster Avenue near Chesterfield Elementary School.
About 4,500 people used the pool last summer, said Stanley A. Stein, director of Parks and Recreation. That averages fewer than 50 people per day. The pool was open from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Stein said the pool is sometimes busy in the morning, but usually almost empty the rest of the day. He said pool use has been this way for decades.
``I can't give you an absolute answer as to why it happens,'' Stein said. ``It just historically has not been used. These numbers have pretty much sustained themselves over the years.''
He did, however, recall a time about 20 years ago when the pool was very busy. The staff would let 100 children in for an hour, empty the pool of children, then let another 100 in.
``But times seem to have changed,'' Stein said.
The Chesterfield pool is one of two outdoor pools the city has. The other is Berkley pool. If the Chesterfield pool is kept open for this coming season, it would need about $100,000 in maintenance work, Stein said.
About 5,700 people used the Berkley pool last summer, Stein said. The decision to close the Chesterfield pool now was made in part because it needs the expensive maintenance work now. Stein said he couldn't speculate whether the city might eventually recommend closing the Berkley pool.
The city's indoor pools, Huntersville and Northside, average almost 350 people per day, Stein said. These pools are open year-round, six days a week. The use of these pools has gone up dramatically, from 78,000 in 1993 to 106,000 in 1994. Stein said the department has had a variety of programs to encourage greater use of the pools.
Use of the outdoor pools also has gone up dramatically, from 6,200 in 1993 to 10,200 in 1994. But Stein said this was chiefly because the outdoor pools were opened Memorial Day instead of waiting until schools closed later in June.
It costs about $52,000 a year to maintain and operate an outdoor pool. An indoor pool costs $200,000 a year.
The recommendation to close the Chesterfield pool was part of a report on the city's water facilities delivered to the council March 7. Stein said that if the Chesterfield pool were closed, the community could expect the dollars to be redirected to some other use that would benefit the area.
``There is still a commitment to neighborhoods,'' Stein said. ``We're looking to see if those same dollars can be spent in a different way. We're not just taking something away from you and walking away.''
The report included data that showed Norfolk falls short in the number of public pools it provides to neighborhoods compared to some other cities.
Richmond, a city that has about 200,000 people compared to Norfolk's 250,000, has nine outdoor pools and two indoor pools. Charleston, S.C., has three outdoor pools and one indoor pool, although the city has only a third of Norfolk's population.
In Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach has five indoor pools, Portsmouth has two outdoor pools, Suffolk has one outdoor pool, and Chesapeake has no public pools.
Nine neighborhoods have requested a pool in their neighborhood, Stein said. They are Bayview, Berkley, Diggstown, Larchmont, Norview, Park Place, Tarrallton, Titustown and Young Terrace. The report said the department was open to considering the idea of building additional pools.
Sharon Coles, president of the Chesterfield Heights Civic Leagues, said she believed the pool was being used but did not want to comment on the recommendation until she learned more about it.
Vice Mayor Paul R. Riddick, who was absent when the issue was discussed before council, said he would fight the proposal to close the pool. Riddick said he still remembers when black children swam at the foot of Church Street and many drowned each year because they had no public swimming pool.
``I'm going to do everything I can to keep this facility open,'' said Riddick, who blamed the pool's low usage on lack of marketing by the recreation department. ``As hot as our summers are, it's ridiculous for the numbers to be that low.'' by CNB