NEWS
Committee designates Franklin Field as first pool location
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Also by Megan Krug:
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- Loans weigh heavily over students (December 8, 2004)
- New residence hall plans go forward (November 23, 2004)
- Committee designates Franklin Field as first pool location (November 9, 2004)
- High energy prices create UW deficit (November 5, 2004)
Related Stories:
- Pool referendum gains approval (November 3, 2004)
- City Council to vote on pool location (November 23, 2004)
- Committe, citizens weigh plans for future pool site (September 10, 2004)
- Locals to decide fate of pool plans (November 2, 2004)
- City receives 3 new donations for pool (December 1, 2004)
by Megan Krug
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
The city of Madison has finalized the location for its new municipal pool. The swimming pool committee decided Monday night that Franklin Field would be the best site for the city’s first public pool.
The committee also selected two other locations to facilitate future planning for a possible second and third pool in Madison.
After much deliberation and a strong public turnout, the committee made the decision to rank the parks in order of importance. The committee decided, in sequential order, on Franklin Field, while Warner and Reindhal parks may be utilized for additional pools at a later time when funding is available.
“The plan was always to have a list of three parks,” Ald. Jean MacCubbin, District 11, said. “We want to build more than one pool in Madison someday, and this way we know where we want to put them.”
The Goodman brothers, who contributed $2 million for the pool, released their first public statement concerning the pool’s placement. The statement said they were strongly in favor of Franklin Field but would be happy with whatever decision the committee made.
“This is the first thing we have heard from the Goodman brothers, and we are definitely taking it into consideration,” committee member Nino Amato said.
Many citizens showed up Monday to express their opinions about the location of the pool. The most popular choices were Warner Park and Franklin Field, but the majority of the residents who spoke favored Warner Park on Madison’s North Side. These residents argued that Warner Park has the space to accommodate large numbers of bathers and has a good community base to support the pool.
Two Madison residents stood up at Monday’s meeting to say they would personally donate $1,000 if the committee decided on Warner Park.
“We need to take many things into account here,” Amato said. “I know the citizens of the North Side are pulling for Warner Park, but it may not be the first pool in Madison.”
A total of five sites were in consideration but were withered down to three after the committee motioned to eliminate Heistand and Elver parks.
“Elver Park had a bad site line and poor soil,” MacCubbin said. “It was also the most expensive site, and sticking to our budget is really important.”
MacCubbin also said early in the listening sessions the public expressed concern about the already-suffering private pools in the Elver Park area. The committee decided based on soil samples and projected costs that the benefits of the Elver site were not strong enough to keep it in the running.
“I don’t think the West Side needs any more pools,” Ald. Judy Compton, District 16, said. “The East Side is widely ignored and could use a sense of community that the North Side has.”
Heistand Park, near Milwaukee Street, was also eliminated as a possible location. MacCubbin said citizens were afraid the pool would have overwhelmed the non-urban feel of the park.
Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 3:55pm):
Did anyone on the committee look at the impact on the "residential" neighborhoods near Franklin Field? This pool will bring lots of traffic to 2-lane roads not built to handle 100's of extra people 5-months out of the year. How will the city accomodate the extra traffic on 25-mile per hour roads? The Warner Park area is already setup to handle large volume traffic. Why not use roads already in place instead of wrecking a quiet, home-owner neighborhood? It's obvious that NO committee members live in the Bay Creek Neighborhood. Thanks for nothing guys!
