A small swim meet has about 300 swimmers; a large meet 600. The average
number of swimmers would be 400-500. So, let's be conservative and assume
400 swimmers at a Moscow meet. My experience is that 400 swimmers would
represent 275 families, since some families have more than one swimmer.
Usually, at least one parent travels with a swimmer. Since some families
send two parents, and a few families send their kids with other
families,let's assume we have 300 parents, or 700 people in 275 families.
Now, a typical swim meet starts Friday night and lasts till Sunday night.
That means 7 meals/person, but let's be conservative and say 6. That's 1400
breakfasts, 1400 lunches, and 1400 dinners. If we spend $2.50 on breakfast;
$3.50 on lunch; and $5 on dinner, that's $15,400 right there, although $3.50
wouldn't even get you a Value Meal at McDonald's, and these swimmers get
hungry.
If every family buys a tank of gas for $20, that's another $5,000+, so we're
over $20,000.
Now, let's say 175 families camp on the lovely grass adjoining the pool and
only 100 families stay in motels on Friday and Saturday nights. Let's say
these 100 families get a great deal: $50/night; that's still another
$10,000, and still a conservative figure. Now we've brought $30,000 into the
commnity.
What do these families do when they aren't at the swim meet? They go to
movies, to the mall, etc. and spend some more money. But let's not even
count that because we are already double what you say we'd need to bring in
to support a larger pool.
No, this money would not go directly into the city budget, but it would go
directly into the community which is paying for the pool. More importantly,
it would bring in money from outside the community. In other words, we could
get people from outside Moscow to pay for the additional pool length.
I hope we are not being so rigid as to have to put this money into the pool
budget for it to "count," but that we can justify a bigger pool because it
is a good financial investment for the community by bringing in money from
outside the community.
At 10:19 AM 2/23/98 -0800, hodge@moscow.com wrote:
>Lois,
>
>At the public meeting at the incubator I did say that the designs shown were
>preliminary. I also said that the committee was narrowing the options to
>two. One outdoor and one indoor/outdoor option. The pool consultant
>furnished the committee information about those options after the public
>meetings. My guess on the additional cost for the 50 m, as stated at the
>public meeting, was incorrect. Sorry.
>
>Perhaps I'm being too analytical, or anal, but the costs don't make sense to
>me. Let's assume the pool last 60 years. $800,000 additional cost over 60
>years is $13,333 per year. Can each swim meet bring in $13,333 to be paid
>to the city to go directly to the cost of the additional pool length? And
>that isn't saying anything about the additional cost of maintaining the
>larger pool. I think we all know the answer to that.
>
>Show me the money!
>
>Larry
>
>
>At 08:46 AM 2/23/98 -0800, you wrote:
>>Larry,
>>
>>I'm a bit confused. At the public meeting that I attended at the incubator,
>>I understood you to say that the "designs" that were being shown around
>>were just preliminary ideas, for general discussion purposes, and that the
>>final pool design had yet to be determined. This is the impression that I
>>received from other members of the pool committee, too. Now it sounds like
>>the pool committee has fixed on a specific 25 yard, 8 lane design with
>>"play" lagoon.
>>
>>I disagree with you on a number of points. One is that 2/3 of Ghormley was
>>underutilized because it was too deep. For the past 10 years, the Moscow
>>Swim Team has tried to rent Ghormley at any time of the day for outdoor
>>practice. We would have loved the deep end that you have characterized as
>>"still water." The team was consistently turned down by the city because
>>there was no time when the pool was sufficiently "empty" enough to
>>accomodate the team. (Please note that I said "rent.")
>>
>>Secondly, I understood you to say at that same meeting that making the
>>outdoor pool 50 meters would add only about $500,000. This would be about
>>an additional 10 to 15% and make a lot of people very happy--many of whom
>>right now are unhappy that there won't be an indoor facility.
>>
>>A 50 meter outdoor pool would enable recreational swimmers to have all the
>>toys they want. Take a look at the 50 meter pools at Boise Y, Moses Lake,
>>and Spokane to see how that could be accomplished. It would also be big
>>enough to accommodate lap swimmers.
>>
>>As for competition, while there might be only one or two competitions in
>>the pool each year, swim meets bring in a considerable amount of money to
>>the community and shouldn't be ignored. We are talking 350-500 swimmers and
>>their families who will use hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, grocery
>>stores, gas stations, and the shopping malls during the 2-3 days of a swim
>>meet. Over the 10-20 years that Moscow would be paying for this pool, we
>>could easily bring the additional $500,000 a 50 meter pool would cost into
>>the community through swim meets alone.
>>
>>More importantly, we have about 200 swimmers in Moscow and Pullman who
>>compete just about every weekend during the summer in 50 meter pools, but
>>they are currently training in 25 yard pools. This is kind of like a
>>basketball team training with a basket that's 2 feet shorter than what
>>they'll be shooting for in a game. Since the Pullman swim team can scarcely
>>get enough training time in the Reaney pool (for the same reason as MST
>>couldn't get time at Ghormley--the deep lap pool as well as the deep end of
>>the recreational pool are too busy during the day), I would bet that they
>>would love to train in a new 50 meter pool in Moscow. Now, it may not be
>>worth it to build these kids an indoor facility, but I certainly think we
>>can take their needs into account inasmuch as it would only add to the
>>benefits of an outdoor pool while not taking anything away. Certainly if we
>>had 200 basketball players, soccer players, or baseball players competing
>>we would make sure they had an adequate facility.
>>
>>Lois Melina
>>
>>
>>----------
>>> From: hodge@moscow.com
>>> To: vision2020@uidaho.edu
>>> Subject: Swim Pool Size
>>> Date: Monday, February 23, 1998 8:22 AM
>>>
>>> I am writing in response to the question several people have asked
>>> concerning the size of a new pool.
>>>
>>> The existing Ghormley pool is 9000 SF, of which about 2/3 is under
>>utilized.
>>> Mostly because of it's depth. The little kids don't want to play in
>>water
>>> that is over their heads. The design of the new facility recognized this
>>> fact and placed most of the emphasis on the leisure component. About 60%
>>of
>>> the new facility is in shallow water, accessible to all. It still
>>includes
>>> 8 lanes, 25 yards long for lap and competition swimming. That is the
>>same
>>> size as the existing UI pool. The thinking is that more people will want
>>to
>>> use the leisure area. The new pool, as designed, will be a bit larger
>>than
>>> Ghormley at 10,000 SF plus.
>>>
>>> Some people have suggested the pool be a 50 meter length as a way of
>>> accompanying growth in our community. The pool committee disagrees with
>>> this concept. If we wish to add more surface water for the future, it
>>> should be placed where the majority of the people will use it; the
>>leisure
>>> component. Adding more length to the lanes will only add more still
>>water
>>> for the future. Few lap swimmers want or need 50 meters. The major
>>reason
>>> the pool committee could see for going to 50 m was for competition. One
>>or
>>> two swim meets a year did not justify the additional expense. To
>>increase
>>> from the proposed design to 50 m would cost an additional $800,485.00.
>>>
>>> Larry Hodge
>>> Pool Committee Member
>>> Hodge and Associates, Inc.
>>> P.O. Box 8728
>>> 125 E. Third
>>> Moscow, Idaho 83843
>>>
>>> e-mail: hodge@moscow.com
>>> Voice: (208) 882-3520
>>> FAX: (208)882-2622
>>
>>
>Hodge and Associates, Inc.
>P.O. Box 8728
>125 E. Third
>Moscow, Idaho 83843
>
>e-mail: hodge@moscow.com
>Voice: (208) 882-3520
>FAX: (208)882-2622
>
>
************************
Lois Melina
Editor, "Adopted Child" newsletter
P.O. Box 9362
Moscow ID 83843
phone: (208)882-1794
fax: (208)883-8035
Lmelina@moscow.com
www.raisingadoptedchildren.com