Tried to use the local city pool lately??? Probably not, because it costs too much these days.
You have to either pay an admission fee ($4 for an adult, $2 for juniors/seniors) or hold a seasonal swim pass plus hold a city rec dept membership card. And remember, you only have access to the pool for about 2 hours for open swim (theoretically they keep 1 lane open for lap swimming all day long). So to hold a rec dept pass and a seasonal swim pass for your family (2 adult max and dependant kids up to 18 residing with you) will cost you $125 to be able to take your kids swimming for 2 hours between approx. 3 and 5pm Monday thru Friday, plus Saturday from about 12 - 5pm (only a few pools are open Sundays, any more). And if your grandkids or nieces/nephews who live outside the city limits come to visit you for the day, they aren't included in the swim pass, so for 1 adult to take 3 kids swimming for 2 hours or less will cost you $10. You can verify these fees and fees for an individual on the following web sites:
http://www.tampagov.net/dept_parks_and_recreation/programs_and_services/
http://www.tampagov.net/dept_parks_and_recreation/programs_and_services/swim_programs/
Considering we already are paying for these city pools with our taxes --- does this seem at all reasonable to you? These prices are exorbitant . . . previous city council didn't think this through very carefully. And having to pay for a rec dept card in addition is really overkill -- especially considering we are already paying for these facilities.
PLEASE contact city council (I believe you can send an email to all at the same time on the TampaGov.net web site), especially Mary Mulhern (she is Chairman of Parks & Rec Dept committee) and our District 7 councilwoman Lisa Montelione. PLEASE encourage all of your neighbors to do the same while there is a movement afoot; there is power in numbers. I know the city budget has problems, but if the pools aren't utilized they will likely be closed down before long. I learned to swim through the city's learn to swim program at Cuscaden Pool, and my kids learned at del Rio, plus were on the summer swim league. (del Rio almost always placed first in the city aquatics dept's summer swim meets . . .) I'd hate to see these nice facilities closed down because we didn't believe that we, the voters, had the power to demand fair treatment.
City Council needs a reason to open a review of the fees for aquatics use. PLEASE . . . let's contact them in large numbers to request that they do what we elected them to do (look after our interests & needs).
Whether you utilize the local pool regularly or not, surely you must agree that these fees are not fair, especially in this economy.
Please email me @ Aquarius9721@ VERIZON.net or respond to this movement by replying to this post; I'd like to have a figure as to how many people have made a request to have these fees reduced so that I can present the data to our councilwoman.
