Friends of the Fremont Pool: August 2014

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Construction Update

Pool Users,

Please find attached the Construction Update for the Fremont Pool shower renovation. It appears that the plan is about the same as we were informed earlier. The expected completion date – November 1^st – is also about what we expected. We have heard and seen the construction workers on site every day and Blach Construction has an excellent reputation.

Also as planned, we will need to vacate the student shower rooms in mid-August when school starts up again. The arrangements for changing area and toilets are going to be very close by, right next to the gym, but do be prepared for an older building.

The shower will be the most challenging. As the outdoor shower on the public shower building will not be ready in two weeks, we will be given the opportunity to ‘rinse off’ only until the outdoor shower is usable. Thus, some people will be inconvenienced. The construction company is targeting September 1st as a completion date for the exterior showers providing the construction schedule remains on target and it is approved by the State Architect. Please be patient and it will all be over soon.

We are looking forward to an excellent outcome and are nearly halfway there! Please be thankful to the high school district and remember that this pool is not on city property. The only swimming pool the City of Sunnyvale owns is the Washington Pool, the rest of our aquatic needs are met via joint-use agreements with the schools.

Thanks so much! It will all be over soon. See the links below for more information.

Holly

http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/DCS/Recreation/Sports/FremontPoolConstructionMap.pdf

http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/DCS/Recreation/Sports/FremontPoolUpdateAug2014.pdf

About Us

Announcement: The Fremont Pool re-opened for limited lap lane swim rentals on July 13, 2000, with Covid -19 restrictions and protocols. CSC gave up their contract; the City of Sunnyvale is running the pool.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fremont Pool was ordered closed on March 17, 2000. More news will follow.

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If you are returning to our organization, I would like to say, ‘Welcome Back’ and if this is your first time working with the group, ‘Welcome On Board’!

I would like to explain my objective in reforming the group and provide a little background for those who are unfamiliar with our project.

The History. Friends of the Fremont Pool was formed in 1999 when the City of Sunnyvale had an opportunity to partner with the Fremont Union High School District to build a 50-meter swimming pool at Fremont High School. Our group advocated for the pool and raised a substantial endowment for the City of Sunnyvale to reduce future operating subsidies. As you are aware, this program was successful, the pool was built, a partnership was formed and we all enjoy the benefits today.

For the most part, the City has handled the community’s interests in this pool by attending and participating in quarterly meetings with high school district personnel and CSC, managing the contract with California Sports Center, paying the high school district, reviewing annual rate changes, and handling inquiries from the public. Lately, there have been more inquiries from the public (me) than usual.

Additionally, the pool endowment, which we raised, is a substantial sum of money at $915,000. We are also expecting to receive proceeds from a bequest in the near future. With interest rates at a historic low, I am interested in investigating investment strategies for the endowment. And, our Trustee, Mary Bradley has retired so a new Trustee must be officially installed.

My Objective. Since it seems as though there has been a fairly brisk flow of questions, billing discrepancies, parking lot issues, etc, and since it seems as though this activity is increasing and because we should do some work in regards to the endowment, I decided to ask pool enthusiasts and interested parties to stay in contact with me.

Thus, Friends of the Fremont Pool is being reformed to have an engaged citizenship aware and communicating regarding some operational and financial issues for which we might want to provide organized input.

Finally, next June marks the tenth anniversary of the Fremont Pool. This is quite a reason for celebration and there may be some good times to be had that we can look forward to. Please stay tuned for more information on that front in the future.

Thank you very much! See you at the pool!

Holly Lofgren

Chairperson, Friends of the Fremont Pool