READERS RESPOND

I want to express my gratitude to two Newport Beach City Council members, Leslie Daigle and Tod Ridgeway, for reviewing this issue as a reflection of the needs of the greater community and not of the Santa Ana Heights Project Advisory Committee.

A 50-meter pool is needed at the planned Santa Ana Heights community center. Why do I say that? Over the years, I have played, taught and coached swimming and water polo. There was a need 30 years ago ? a need that exists today ? for pools large enough to host competitive aquatic events and to handle multiple concurrent uses, such as swim lessons, adult fitness lap swimming and swim team practice. Public pools get year-round use in our area, and they are definitely a community asset. I grew up and now reside in Santa Ana Heights and have used the local YMCA facilities since 1970. Now my daughters are swimming competitively on the YMCA team. It has always been a mystery to me why such an aquatic center was not considered, let alone built, earlier. If ever there was a “proper” place for a “proper” aquatic center, the YMCA is it, hands down. If the choice is between having a catering kitchen (how is this a community asset?) and an area to sit at tables (can you say bistro for the catering kitchen?) and a 50-meter pool, choose the latter. A pool will be used more and have a greater positive effect on our community.

Think about it. If someone were considering moving into this area, which item would be a bigger draw? A catering kitchen or a 50-meter pool open to the entire community? I would hazard a guess that the catering kitchen would not be included in any real estate sales brochures but the pool would. In conclusion, I look forward to the day when my kids and their friends and teammates first dive into the new 50-meter community pool.

GEORGE ROBERTSON

Santa Ana Heights

Regarding the pool size at the community center, there are two important facts to consider.

First, the aquatic programs at the YMCA are extremely popular. With the swim teams, swimming lessons, aqua aerobics classes and summer camps, the pool is constantly in use by adults and children alike.

Second, the obesity epidemic is not limited to other counties; adults and children here in Newport Beach need to stay healthy too, and swimming is great exercise.

The idea that the pool would be shorter in order to provide more deck space for lounging around is ludicrous. The majority of people here want a longer pool, not a country club.

GARY DEVINE

Santa Ana Heights

The length of the pool should be 50 meters. Who cares about the tables? There are no tables now at the lap pool, and it’s perfect without them. Who needs to carry in all their clutter and food by the pool? My family has been with the YMCA on University Avenue on and off for 10 years. It’s a quiet place for families of all ages, and the members are nice.

My children have taken swim lessons here, and they swim when it’s “open swim” time. Sometimes “open swim” is not really open because more lanes are being used by adults for lap swim. All the more reason to give more space to the adults for lap swimming, and more space for our children.

The only thing you can do is build the 50-meter pool. Keep members happy by building the larger, much-needed pool. Build the larger pool to make room for swimmers, not fun-seekers looking to place their drinks on tables.

JUNE ILKCAGLA

Costa Mesa

My family and I are members of the YMCA and my two daughters are on the swim team. They have three practices a week and swim roughly 10,000 to 12,000 yards a week. Our little team took first in the small team division last month, and we would like to grow this program. We can’t. The pool is too small. We need a larger 50-meter pool desperately.

Like many, one of my daughters has struggled with her weight her whole life, and this program has been a godsend. Please give that opportunity to other children.

I don’t know anyone who feels that more deck space for chairs is necessary. It is an athletic facility, not a country club. When we go to other cities for swim meets, their facilities are incredible. We come home to a very affluent area, and our facility is sadly lacking by comparison. In fact our whole area is sadly lacking in the aquatic area by comparison. Fifty-meter all the way.

KELLY KOHLENBERGER

Costa Mesa

I recently moved from Pasadena to Corona del Mar and was very disappointed to find that there is not a 50-meter pool that is open to the public.

When I lived in Pasadena, I worked out regularly at the Pasadena Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, and I loved the competition pool, with its long course, 50 meters. The 25-meter pool, short course, did not provide a great workout. I would swim anywhere from 2,000 meters to 3,200 meters.

After all, the purpose of a pool is to swim and work out. I would rather have a 50-meter pool. If I want to lay out, I’ll go to the beach.

DONNA CODY

Corona del Mar