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JANEL STEPHENSSome community members question the validity of the addition to North Shore Pool.
ST. PETERSBURG - Even as the city is scrambling to cut $4-million from its budget, plans are moving forward to dig a new swimming pool at the North Shore complex - right beside an existing Olympic size pool.
The project will cost $1.1-million, and work will begin in November. That has got some people wondering: If times are so tough, how can this be?
It's a popular question that seems to lead off public forums recently, said John Green, capital improvements director.
His answer is always the same: The project is funded by Penny for Pinellas, a 1-cent sales surtax that cannot be used for operational or maintenance costs.
"Those are two fund sources that cannot be interchanged," Green said.
The 25-meter pool will provide more space for recreational swimmers, training for competitive swimmers and will serve as a warm-up location for athletes during meets.
City Council members approved the initial funding for the pool's design and appropriation of Penny funds in 2001, Green said.
The project was later shelved because Mayor Rick Baker worried about the cost of running a new pool. The pool is in City Council member Virginia Littrell's district. She recently brought the project back to the council's attention after North Shore pool users asked her why the project wasn't moving forward, Littrell said.
The City Council revisited the project by holding a meeting with area swim clubs including the St. Petersburg Aquatics and the St. Petersburg Masters club, who train there, to see whether they would be willing to help the city offset revenue that it would cost to keep operational expenses by helping them attract major aquatic events.
They readily agreed.
"There's money to be made," said Fred Lewis, coach of the St. Petersburg Aquatics swim team. "You have staff here who are willing to organize and go the extra mile to get swim meets here."
In addition, a market feasibility study was conducted on ways to make the facility attractive to major swim meets such as the national masters swimming championships - an age group of athletes 19 and older - and the Junior Olympics.
Several council members and swimmers think the additional pool, located at 901 N. Shore Dr. NE, will be a great source of revenue for the city in coming years. But there is a cost to run it: $100,000 per year, which will come from the city's operating budget once approved, Green said.
"Any type of sporting event that we're able to market brings in not only the athletes but the athlete's friends and family," said City Council member Bill Foster. "It does have marked impact on the economy."
And it's not the only neighborhood to get a new pool. In 2002, one opened in Childs Park. The $1.5-million project came with a training pool and slide, a diving well equipped with a diving board and a larger multipurpose pool with three lanes.
But others say the money used to build a pool next to the city's Olympic-sized pool could be used instead to repair existing facilities, road reconstruction and drainage in other parts of the city.
"There's a saying that there's plenty of money if it's not on the west side of town," said Steve Plice, former president of the Jungle Terrace Civic Association, who has lived in the area for 10 years.
Plice said the city seems to come up short when it comes to plans to improve Walter Fuller Center or the replacement of deteriorating dock on Jungle Prada.
Sharon Russ, a mother of three who lives in the Bartlett Park neighborhood, would rather see the surtax money used toward public safety.
"Crime is the reason why the community is in the condition its in right now," Russ said. "We got a problem here. Clean the area up and developers will come in. They will invest in the community."
Foster, the City Council member, says he understands the frustration of some of the residents. He would rather see some money designated to capital improvement used to create night programs for youths on summer break. "Few people understand, they say every time you want money to build something you have the money," he said. "You have to explain that's different money."