City, school district fired up over heating pool
Mathis Winkler
NEWPORT BEACH -- This summer’s chilly water temperatures at Corona del
Mar High School’s swimming pool have Mayor Gary Adams boiling.
To deal with soaring energy prices, Newport-Mesa Unified School
District officials decided to charge the city’s summer swimming program
for extra pool heating and filtration costs this year. That prompted city
officials to move the entire program to the swimming pool at Newport
Harbor High School and keep the unheated Corona del Mar High’s pool
tentatively open for lap swimming.
But during Tuesday’s City Council study session, a usually reserved
Adams criticized district officials for forcing the city’s residents to
make do with one pool.
District officials “are trying to pinch pennies and try to blame it on
the energy crisis,” Adams said. “This is crazy. . . . There is something
really wrong here. This sounds really fishy to me. . . . If they are
going to pull this with the pool heating, what’s going to be next?”
While somewhat less passionate about the matter, Councilman Tod
Ridgeway agreed that the two public agencies should try to come up with a
compromise.
“We’re prepared to loosen our budget to satisfy constituents,”
Ridgeway said. “The school district should do the same. . . . I think
there has got to be a way for the school district and the city to come
together to open both of these pools.”
Ridgeway then called for a meeting between top city and district
officials to resolve the matter. On Thursday, City Manager Homer Bludau
said he was still trying to set up a get-together.
As things stand, district officials are asking the city to pay $422 a
day for extra heating and filtration costs to bring the pool up to 80
degrees. City officials have already added a $10 energy surcharge to fees
for swimming lessons.
While the district’s point man on the issue said he’d gladly meet with
city officials, he added that there was little he could offer.
“If we reduce [the energy surcharge], my challenge to the city would
be, ‘Where would you like us to cut [other things in the budget?]”’ said
Mike Fine, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services.
Fine added that because the district had no means to charge more for
its main line of business -- education -- he and his colleagues had to
come up with creative ways to cover higher energy costs.
And folks in Costa Mesa, who were confronted with the same energy
costs for their summer swim program, hadn’t reacted like their Newport
Beach counterparts, Fine said.
“Costa Mesa has been beyond cooperative in dealing with the issue,”
Fine said. “Newport Beach’s attitude has been different. We’ve been
beyond fair. We’re still paying a ton of money. All we’ve asked the city
is to pay for excess costs.”
QUESTION
Cool pool
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