Pool plan to go to city

Paula Pisani

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The Huntington Beach Union High School District and

the City Council will decide if a plan to fund two community swimming

pools by 2001 holds water or if its proponents are all wet.

A committee made up of district and city officials met Friday to discuss

the joint-use and funding options for the pools.

Both sides hope to have a joint-use agreement to share the proposed

$1.5-million Huntington Beach High School and the $4.5-million future

Ocean View High School pools. Under that agreement, which is contingent

on pool funding, community members could use both facilities, said Ron

Hagan, director of the city’s Community Services Department.

Right now, the funding plan for Huntington Beach High School pool is to

use the money already raised plus available grants and future Proposition

12 funds, which the city will receive next year, to complete the pool.

Officials will submit a grant for Proposition 12 funds and match it with

corporate money for the Ocean View pool, Hagan said.

The school board passed the committee’s plan at its meeting Tuesday. The

council will review it Monday.

“We are ‘underaquaticked’ in Huntington Beach,” Councilman Ralph Bauer

said. He said he is not opposed to seeing the city use its general fund

money to help build the pool.

If city officials can soak up leisure time with education and athletic

activities, the crime rates go down, Bauer said.

The Huntington Beach pool closed in 1991. Built in the 1940s, it is far too outdated to renovate, Hagan said. The new pool requires disability

access and must meet standards for earthquake safety.

When the pool closed, a booster club called Take the Plunge formed to

raise money for a new pool. The club has asked the city and district to

pitch in $900,000 to add to the $600,000 the campaign has already raised.

Take the Plunge member Gail Pelliccioni said she can understand why the

money isn’t available to build the pool, but is frustrated by delays.

“When they have leaky roofs and ceilings coming down, it’s hard for them

to come up with money for the pool,” she said. “The problem is it’s delay

after delay. Now we’re up to two years -- the pool is two years away.”

In the meantime, members of Huntington Beach High’s swim team must be

bused to other schools to practice.

“We’ll look, and if we can find other funding, we’ll make a

recommendation,” Hagan said.