Service High Swimming Pool No Longer Open to Public

Budget cuts shut down community use of pool

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By Lauren Maxwell
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Story Created: Jan 7, 2013 at 6:51 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Jan 7, 2013 at 7:20 PM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - Municipal budget cuts are affecting how and when people can swim. The Service High Pool is no longer open for community swims. City Parks and Rec director John Rodda said lap swims and open swims at Service were discontinued as of January 1.

There is a charge to swim at city pools that goes to help cover the costs of keeping the pool open early or late or on weekends for the community. But Rodda said the Service pool had the fewest number of users in the district and that use was dropping steadily. He said it brought in the fewest revenues as well. Long-time swimmer Mike Jens is disappointed.

“We've got a wonderful facility here that's frankly being underutilized, “said Jens. “I’ve been in here times when I have been the only swimmer here, and I have been in here times when there four or five different events going on both above the water and with scuba divers below.”

Jens is trying to rally support for the pool from both the public and the Anchorage Assembly, hoping that the decision to close it to community swims will be reversed.

“I wrote a letter to the editor to try and stimulate some people to get interested in the pool and let [the Department of] Parks and Rec know that there are users out there who want to use the pool and hope we can stimulate more interest.”

The Anchorage School District has a separate arrangement to use the city pools and has full access to the Service pool. In addition, Service is the exception when it comes to public swim access; every other pool in the district offers community swim times.
 

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Lisa said on Friday, Jun 14 at 1:02 PM

This is a shame and I think that the public on the south side should have access to the pool. If they opened it up and advertised reasonable hours the people would come. We had to drive all the way to dimond high to use the pool and it was overcrowded. They had to turn people away. the whole thing does not make sense.

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Stacy said on Monday, Jan 7 at 9:21 PM

It was probably the least used because of the ridiculously restricted schedule of when it was open to the public and not to mention that over the past several years, the pool has been closed more than open. That tends to drive away persons who would use the pool when it is never open anyways.

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