Have your voice heard on the pool project

If there was ever a time for collaboration as well as coming together, McCook’s pool project has to be toward the top of the list. The city of McCook held another community planning meeting Wednesday night regarding the pool project, but there might finally be hope on the horizon after years of inaction.

With a pool engineer in place to lead the project, there seems to be traction and a process in place to have people’s voices be heard. It is also finally time for all the entities in town which would benefit from a new aquatic center to get on the same page and work together to make the best project we can for our community, for our kids, for our future.

I know people are tired of me talking -- and not doing something -- about the pool. I’m only half-joking when I say I should have the word “pool” tattooed across my forehead because it comes up in conversations so often. While a pool may seem frivolous, we are actually talking about the quality of life for our community.

I may be missing a few people, but current pool committee members Tracy Flaska, Charles Coleman and I were also on the pool committee in 1999 when we put a $1 million band-aid on McCook’s 1937 pool. At that point, I was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 20-something with only two kids, who just followed, did as I was told and ultimately didn’t dream big.

Now as my second stint on the pool committee continues, those two kids have completed college, two more kids are high school graduates, the final three kids will be moving on too quickly. and I’m only bright-eyed and bushy-tailed every other day.

But I have learned to dream and to dream big. I have learned to do my research and to speak up. I have learned that there are financial resources available if the right project comes along and it is done correctly. And I have learned that collaboration is not optional but a necessity.

To say the pool project is long overdue is an understatement. I would like to say a new pool is going to be built next month, but everyone knows that isn’t realistic. But to say a new pool is going to be built next year may not even be a possibility either because it is such a complicated issue. And the community doesn’t want to hear that because we have been at this process for so long.

Fortunately, we are beginning what should have been done years ago: researching all options, meeting with all stakeholders, leaving no stone unturned as we determine what will improve the quality of life in McCook in regards to a new aquatic center.

Afterall, the easy button would be to just slap in a new pool and call it a day. But it isn’t that simple. There are so many questions that need to be asked and answered. So many issues which need to be researched and reviewed. So many people who need to have their voices heard and so many entities which need to be involved.

These include McCook Community College, which would benefit both from having a new pool near its campus for its students to utilize as well as moving the pool, so the college could use the land for other purposes such as a new dorm. This includes Community Hospital, which could benefit from a therapy pool or exercise classes for the well-being of its patients. This includes McCook Public Schools, which already utilizes the YMCA pool for its high school swim team but could add swim lessons and lifeguarding classes to its curriculum.

And the conversation has to include the YMCA, which knows how expensive and difficult it is to maintain a pool, knows what it takes to operate a pool year-round, and knows how difficult it can be to find lifeguards.

And perhaps one of the most important questions the community needs to answer: Does McCook need two pools? Can McCook support two pools? And just to get everyone up to speed, we are talking about a city pool which is over 80 years old and a YMCA pool which is nearing its 40th anniversary. Just like me, neither are spring chickens anymore.

I have been on this committee since October 2015 when 15 of us were approved by the city council to form the McCook Pool Committee. And while we have tried to do our best to make things happen, we have struggled to gain forward momentum.

I take this responsibility very personally because this pool isn’t for me or my family, but for the entire community. It is for our kids, for our families, for our elderly. It is for those who use the pool on a daily basis. It is for those who never use the pool but understand that it is important to attract people to our community. It is important just for a good quality of life.

So how do we move this project forward? How can you make a difference?

Take the survey, which was created by the city’s pool engineer. It will be available for the next 45 days, so look for it online (hopefully, the city gets the link on its website soon), pickup up a paper copy around the community, and it will be shared on Facebook. The survey uses multiple-choice questions for the most part, but there are spaces available to input your own ideas. Please use those boxes to give your personal input, whether it is a splash pad for the interim or a location the city hasn’t considered.

To prevent the results from getting skewed, the survey can only be taken once on each device. So before rushing to complete the survey, think about what you want in an aquatic center, think about how you use a pool, and think about what the community needs.

And then contact the city council members to let them know this is a priority. Reach out to city staff to say that this needs to move forward in a timely way. Visit with pool committee members to share what you would like to be included. After all, it is up to each and everyone one of us to make this happen and to make McCook an even better place to call home.