RA What?
I was at RA this morning picking up my pool passes. There was a woman there who was unhappy that even though her son is a life guard at an RA pool, her family was not entitled to pool passes (they’re non-residents).
Apparently last year this was a perk for life guards. I am happy that RA is holding the line on this issue with the budget dilemma, but why was it ever a perk? For that matter, what is the percentage of pool use with residents/non-resident? Is pool usage so low among residents that we ‘need’ non-resident funds? My understanding, too, is that non-resident children can swim on RA teams and thus be able to use RA pools for no additional fee. True or not? I know that there are waiting lists for the teams each year, so do we really need non-residents? I’d love someone to educate me on this.
What difference does it make with a budget problem. Give the kids family a pool pass. The pools are under utilized as it is. If you think otherwise… just give them a pass to Shawdowood. There is no one there…. As qa RA member I continue to wonder, what is the value of this land given the use of this space. I see an indoor fitness center and gymnasium.
Not all of the RA pools are underutilized. There are clearly ‘more’ and ‘less’ popular pools. Perhaps the solution would be to allow non-RA residents to purchase passes good for only select pools, i.e. the under-utilized ones. It isn’t any fun to go to a pool that is so crowded (Glade, Hunters Woods, North Shore) that one can’t really swim.
As for Shadowood, my theory about about its underuse is that a great number of the people who live in or near Shadowwood cannot afford a pool pass. It is mostly a subsidized housing area. Additionally, with all the great press the subsidized housing area gets (Winterthur, 7-11 issues), people who have other options will probably go elsewhere.