The Wheels of Progress Turn for UCC Pool Repairs

By Freddy Gompf · The Mainstream
Published February 8, 2012

The process of rehabilitating UCC’s pool, a popular community resource, has been set in motion.  The Swimming Pool Planning Group, which met for the first time Jan. 31, is currently coordinating community feedback in order to present a recommendation to the school board by March.

Plans for the pool will include, at a bare minimum, installation of a handicap lift and stainless steel railing to meet ADA compliance, a new stainless steel liner, and resurfacing of the deck at a cost of $1.5 million.  With this scenario, the pool could be operational within six months of the start of construction.

Feedback on how the pool should be fixed came from 35 community members including parents of children who swam and took lessons in the pool, UCC board members, UCC Foundation board members and UCC employees who have an invested interest in the pool.

Susan Taylor, coordinator of grant development, surveyed these people about the improvements and changes they would like to see.  One idea was to fill in the deep end in an attempt to reduce operational costs, but this idea was rejected overwhelmingly.

If costs will allow going beyond the bare minimum, 60 percent of those surveyed also wanted a retractable roof.  Fund for the project will have to come from gifts, grants and fundraising. 

The efforts to rehabilitate the pool began last November after the pool was forced to close due to disrepair and state budget cuts. Taylor’s community planning sessions began in response to the overwhelming public outcry over the pool’s closing.  “There are a lot of people in this community who are passionate about the UCC pool,” said Taylor.

 More than 8000 people used the pool in 2010, and more than 3000 children received swimming lessons between 2007 and 2010.

One of the reasons for the public’s concern over the closure was the UCC pool’s role in providing community swimming lessons.  Those swimming lessons help prevent drowning while the pool also provides a safe place to swim.  “There were six drowning deaths in Douglas County in the summer of 2011 alone,” Taylor noted.

The pool’s closure also represents the loss of job opportunities for UCC students “It was also a great opportunity for high school kids with the summer off,” remarked Amanda Morris, a UCC student who worked at the pool as a lifeguard and water safety instructor.  The lifeguards at the pool were primarily paid UCC students. 

The operation of the pool was always a monetary loss for the college.  One of the future goals is for the pool to be self sustaining.  This could happen partially through the use of the pool by community groups.

The pool has been the summer home of the Roseburg YMCA’s swim team for many years as well as the training grounds for local high school swim teams.  Fee revenue gained from these uses along with admission charged to the public will also help fund the pool.