Walnut Creek wants to maintain its aquatics glory by revamping its swim facilities

For many decades, Walnut Creek had been a "leader in the field" of civic swim programs by providing everything from tots swim classes to elite Olympic programs.

But, alas, our two aquatic facilities--the Clarke Memorial Swim Center at Heather Farm Park and Larkey Park--are aging. They also are out-of-style for what the public now needs and wants for recreational swimming. More than that, they are below standard for what would be necessary or ideal to provide elite aquatics training or to host top swim competitions. This conclusion comes from a staff report in advance of this evening's meeting at 6:30 p.m. of the Park, Recreation and Open Space Commission. The commission will begin its review of Walnut Creek's aquatics needs.

An example of a sub-standard facility? The depth of the 50-meter pool at Clarke Memorial Swim Center. It is "a hindrance," according to the staff report. "The governing body of competitive aquatics, USA Swimming, has determined that pools such as Clarke's, which range in depth from 3.5 to 5 feet, are not sufficient for racing starts from platforms," the report says.

Bottom line, if the city wants to host swim meets and to provide a place to train the best-of-the-best of competitive swimmers, as it has historically, it needs to provide an Olympic-caliber pool that is only 3.5 feet deep on one end.

With this pressing concern and many others related to this issue, the city is considering a major upgrade--basically tearing out and replacing the pools and bathhouses at Heather Farm and Larkey Park with new-and-improved facilities.
 

This upgrade will of course cost lots of money, in the millions of dollars. A consultant, The Sports Management Group, has recommended that the city replace Heather Farms' 50-meter pool and  25-meter dive pool (where the nationally renowned synchronized swim team, the Aquanuts, train). The city should also replace the 1,800-square-foot instructional pool--as well as upgrade the bathhouse.

For Larkey Park, the consultant has said that the city should renovate the existing six-lane pool and diving well, replace the baby wading pool, and add a large and interactive "sprayground." (The photo here shows a "sprayground" in St. Mary's County, Maryland/)

An estimated cost for doing all this work? $21 million

Is putting out this money worth it? Especially in these tough economic times?

What the city says it is dealing with now is:

--Aquatic facilities that are in substandard condition and that cannot be renovated to meet current standards.
--A strong demand for a full range of aquatic programs at both facilities; this demand is expected to continue into the future.
--The facilities are unable to fully meet community demand for: family aquatics; swim lessons; competitive swim programs; swim meets; and social/recreational space.
--The city's subsidy of these programs will keep going up if things stay the same.

The big question this report asks, and the the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Commission will need to discuss is: "Given the condition of the aquatics facilities, and assuming the Walnut Creek community desires city-provided aquatic programs now and in the future, what is the best opportunity for success?"
 
Do you use Heather Farm or Larkey Park pools? I used to swim laps at Heather Farm--until I joined a fitness club that has a pool. Still, there is still something wonderful about swimming a lap in a pool with that length. My son took swim lessons at both pools, and he swam recreationally at Heather Farm on summer afternoons as part of the city-sponsored sports camp.
 
I'd definitely say that the Heather Farm bathhouse needs an overhaul. I also wish both pools could provide more ways for people, visiting those facilities  on hot, intensely sunny summer afternoons, to get in the shade. 
 
Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

All Gone:14,000-square-feet demolished next to Alma Park, and yes, there were redwood trees on the removal list

Here’s a photo of what’s left at the two-acre site, next to Alma Park, and at the corner of South California and Olympic boulevards. As I’ve reported previously (or not adequately, according to some readers), the Hall Equities Group is redeveloping the site to create two buildings, with a total of 17,000 square feet. These buildings would house a bank, restaurant, and retail and office space. This new complex will be called Centre Place.

So, in the last couple weeks, 14,000 square feet of the existing California Plaza have been knocked down cleared away. And, more controversially, for some readers of this blog, a bunch of trees were removed, including what one reader claimed was a grove of redwoods.

According to city Planning Commission and City Council meeting records, Halls Equities ultimately proposed removing a total of 18 trees. Seventeen of these were on the applicant’s property, and one small redwood was on city property. Back in early 2009, the city arborist said he would not recommend removal of many of these trees, including at least one of the redwoods. But the Planning Commission and City Council eventually said yes to the removal of all 18 trees. Five redwoods were on a list of the trees planned for removal,  and these redwoods were among those that the city arborist surveyed. In his survey, the arborist had recommended preserving three of those trees.

A Crazy reader raised concerns about the redwood tree chop-down, and another reader said that the trees being chopped down were not coast redwoods, but Canary Island pines. Well, it looked to me liked the demolition team removed a redwood or two. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. The city arborist conceded that “the upside … relating to tree removals is that all of the trees are young and therefore not irreplaceable. … The sycamore and redwood trees are very fast growing species so replacements would be acceptable in my opinion.”

One issue that came up in the discussion about this project, specifically as it relates to Alma Park, the city’s 19th park, is a proposal to redo the entryway to the park—by chopping down and removing trees around it. It turns out that Walnut Creek police had expressed concerns about security and safety in Alma Park and supported the idea of opening up the plaza and park entry way, by creating a wider walkway, eliminating the trellis and vegetation. These improvements, according to city reports, would allow for more “eyes on the park.”

Unfortunately, for at least one reader, who lives in one of those buildings around Alma Park, the news that the KFC and Baja Fresh buildings will remain was disappointing: “I was further dismayed by the fact that KFC and Baja Fresh will still stand, as I've secretly been plotting for their particular demise ever since I moved in.”

What's going in to the corner where the trees were removed

Here you go, folks. Gayle Vassar, the city's community relations manager, kindlly tracked this down for me.

Demolition is currently underway at South California Blvd. and Olympic Blvd. (near Alma Park) to make way for a new commercial development known as Centre Place. Hall Equities Group is redeveloping the two-acre commercial site currently known as California Plaza at 1231-1275 South California Boulevard. The project will include demolition of a 14,742 square-foot portion (~75%) of the existing one-story retail building (all but KFC/Baja Fresh), and construction of two new buildings totaling 17,707 square feet with retail, bank, and office uses at the north end of the site. Building #1 is a two-story, 13,157 square foot office/bank combination designed for a single tenant with the bank component on the first level and associated offices above. Building #2 is a one-story 4,550 square foot retail/restaurant building designed for one or more tenants.

Limited, additional work will include grading and re-landscaping within the City’s adjacent Alma Park. The developer will also enlarge, re-design, and re-landscape the entire Alma Park entryway plaza at the intersection of S. California and Olympic Boulevards. The plan includes new flat work with different paving materials and all new landscaping within a larger, more open plaza at the corner and possible artwork locations. Additional improvements include a wider throat within which a more linear, wider, and ADA accessible walkway would be created from the intersection up into the park. Park entrance improvements will include the removal of several mature pine trees.

So, that answered my question, which one reader said I should have asked before I printed my original post. Well, I did. Just near the time that office hours at the city were closing ... Could I have waited? Did I violate good journalistic standards? Maybe I could have waited. Still mulling that one over. Maybe I violated journalistic standards.  Still mulling that over, too, and the question of whether certain journalistic standards have really served the public as well as claimed... Many big questions to be asking in the middle of the night.

Oh, and from the conceptual site plan, it doesn't look like the builder is going to allow the widening of California Boulevard to make room for bicyclists. However, making California Boulevard more bike-friendly, if not with a whole, actual bike lane, is supposed to be a high priority for the city's Bicycle Plan, as I reported earlier this week.

Of course, it's already been debated and approved--and supposedly covered by the Contra Costa Times. Old news, right? So why did I ever bother to bring it up?  Just Crazy that way.

Why? Who is removing the tree grove from Alma Park?

A Crazy, nature-loving reader was alarmed to spot this sight today as he was passing Alma Park, the two-acre city park nestled amid the apartments of Alpine Road and which is accessible from California Boulevard at Olympic Boulevard. He saw what he described as a "whole grove of nice-sized redwoods" being removed at the entrance of Alma Park.

I've e-mailed some folks in the city to see if they know what was going on in Alma Park Wednesday.

Alma Park is the city's 19th park and was developed for the city by Steve Seely, who built the Ivy Hill apartments.

This reader, who I know to be savvy about how things work in public agencies, pointed me to the page on the city's website that outlines the criteria that one might obtain a permit to remove trees.

"Seems like tree removal permits are far too easy to get," my reader says.