Help Keep Pools Open In the Seattle Area

I certainly never expected that this thread would become controversial. The following caveat is listed with the poll: "Because the poll is not scientific, its results are not used in decision making. However, your comments are read by the Executive and/or his staff." The obvious question is why conduct the poll if it won't be used for decision making. I interpret the statement to mean that facility closures won't be determined by the results of the poll. I can only speculate as to how the poll will be used. Yes, there was "ballot stuffing". That is obvious and pointed out in many of the comments that were submitted. Scores of people provided comments. Many of them indicated that they lived outside the county or even out of state. Even though I am President of Federal Way Masters and practice at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, I live in a neighboring county. I estimate that 30% of the Aquatic Center's regular users live outside of King County. The pool is only about two miles from the county line. Additionally, there are events held at the Aquatic Center on over 40 weekends each year. These events include regional, zone, and national championships for USMS, USA-Swimming, US Diving, US Water Polo, and US Synchronized Swimming. I cannot think of any of the events held at the Aquatic Center that are limited exclusively to King County residents. It can easily be argued that the sales tax and motel tax paid by competitors and spectators to these events make up the operating loss of the Aquatic Center. Therefore, I feel that it was quite appropriate for anyone to vote and comment. The swimming community became aware of the poll on Wednesday morning. At that time there were only about 50 votes for pools and over 1300 for Parks with off leash areas for dogs. By Thursday morning when I started this thread, there were over 3500 votes for pools, primarily due to email campaigns to the local swimming community. I hope that none of the facilities end up getting closed. It bothers me that we have to play political games to keep facilities open. I certainly hope that it doesn't come down to the most politically active group keeps their facilities open while the quiet guys lose their facility. I hope that instead the county executives learn that all parks are important to the quality of life. For those of you interested, here are the results from the poll: Select the one recreational facility/feature that you value most: Ball fields for baseball, soccer and other sports 520 Open spaces and natural resource lands 118 Trails for hiking, biking, and walking 201 Swimming pools 4336 Community centers 23 Community and neighborhood parks 78 Recreational programming like exercise and martial arts classes 6 Picnic and play-areas 47 Parks with off leash areas for dogs 1573 Other 23 Total votes 6925

I certainly never expected that this thread would become controversial. The following caveat is listed with the poll: "Because the poll is not scientific, its results are not used in decision making. However, your comments are read by the Executive and/or his staff." The obvious question is why conduct the poll if it won't be used for decision making. I interpret the statement to mean that facility closures won't be determined by the results of the poll. I can only speculate as to how the poll will be used. Yes, there was "ballot stuffing". That is obvious and pointed out in many of the comments that were submitted. Scores of people provided comments. Many of them indicated that they lived outside the county or even out of state. Even though I am President of Federal Way Masters and practice at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, I live in a neighboring county. I estimate that 30% of the Aquatic Center's regular users live outside of King County. The pool is only about two miles from the county line. Additionally, there are events held at the Aquatic Center on over 40 weekends each year. These events include regional, zone, and national championships for USMS, USA-Swimming, US Diving, US Water Polo, and US Synchronized Swimming. I cannot think of any of the events held at the Aquatic Center that are limited exclusively to King County residents. It can easily be argued that the sales tax and motel tax paid by competitors and spectators to these events make up the operating loss of the Aquatic Center. Therefore, I feel that it was quite appropriate for anyone to vote and comment. The swimming community became aware of the poll on Wednesday morning. At that time there were only about 50 votes for pools and over 1300 for Parks with off leash areas for dogs. By Thursday morning when I started this thread, there were over 3500 votes for pools, primarily due to email campaigns to the local swimming community. I hope that none of the facilities end up getting closed. It bothers me that we have to play political games to keep facilities open. I certainly hope that it doesn't come down to the most politically active group keeps their facilities open while the quiet guys lose their facility. I hope that instead the county executives learn that all parks are important to the quality of life. For those of you interested, here are the results from the poll: Select the one recreational facility/feature that you value most: Ball fields for baseball, soccer and other sports 520 Open spaces and natural resource lands 118 Trails for hiking, biking, and walking 201 Swimming pools 4336 Community centers 23 Community and neighborhood parks 78 Recreational programming like exercise and martial arts classes 6 Picnic and play-areas 47 Parks with off leash areas for dogs 1573 Other 23 Total votes 6925