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Crozet Park Board Responds to Swimming Proposal

Editor’s note: Everything is politics and everything is political. What follows is a response from the Crozet Park Board to the recent decision about the STAR Swimming plan. Background information is available at Charlottesville Tomorrow – August 2008 and September 2008. If you feel strongly about this issue, feel free to leave comments here; I will ensure that they get delivered to our representative on the Board of Supervisors, Ann Mallek.

January 7, 2009 Agenda Item: “Concerns with Competitive Swimming Summary” A Response to the Executive Summary

Members of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and Albemarle County School Board;

It is the opinion of the Board of Directors of Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. that the executive summary and recommendation submitted by the committee, which was appointed by you, is biased, inaccurate and does not reflect the needs and interests of Albemarle County residents or its student population. Please consider the following in response to the Executive Summary:

According to the summary, “three County high school competitive swim programs are currently in desperate need of reasonably convenient lane space.”(click to go to executive summary)

– There are presently three aquatics facilities available in the urban ring (ACAC, Crow Pool and STAR swimming /Fairview Swim Club). There is not a desperate situation.
– Two more aquatic facilities are slated for construction in the urban ring in 2009-2010 (Smith Aquatics Center and McIntire YMCA), providing additional high school practice facilities.
– Monticello High School presently swims at Crow Pool; Albemarle High School presently swims at ACAC Pool, Western Albemarle High School swims in Star Swimming’s existing facility (STAR swimming/Fairview Swim Club). Charlottesville High School is scheduled to practice at the McIntire facility (when open), and no high schools are currently scheduled to practice at the Smith Aquatic Center, when complete.
– Western Albemarle is the only high school that doesn’t have a reasonably convenient facility available.

“Competitive swimming pools ranked 15th out of 16 with approximately five percent (5%) of the respondents selecting it as one of their top three (3) choices.”(click to see survey included in report – PDF)

– The recommendation ignores the needs and wants of County residents as outlined in the supporting survey and numerous (if not every) County needs assessment.
– Competitive swimming is never mentioned in the Albemarle County Parks and Recreation Funding Request form, which is the basis of evaluation for the executive summary. (See Attachment B funding requests instructions).
– The recommendation accommodates after school practices and meets for 120 high school athletes for one quarter of the year.
– Other proposals accommodate 4 of the top 5 survey responses in the executive summaries attachment A. (A warm water recreation family-oriented facility was number one choice of respondents).
– Recreational aquatics facilities serve thousands of residents, including competitive swimming.
– Pools built specifically for competitive swimming cannot be easily used for other needs. Better options are available that serve not only competitive needs but also learn to swim programs, recreational swimming, and programs for swimmers with disabilities.

The executive summary failed to list several concerns with the Star Swimming proposal:

– County high school swim teams, the only beneficiaries, will need to use the facility for many years, even if more convenient options are available (such as Smith Aquatic Center, Crozet Pool, or McIntire YMCA facility) for recovery of a $500,000 County investment.
– Investment made into a private facility will limit public use.
– Lack of operator for “optional” public use (Parks and Recreation Department is proposed)
– Lack of budget, funding, and reasonable hours for public programming option.
– Swimming Pool does not exist.
– Source of pool funding is not included in proposal.
– Star Swimming location is in a highly congestion (sic) area and inconvenient to 2 out of the 3 County school.
– Least attractive option for Western Albemarle.
– Location is near five existing and proposed aquatic facility locations.
– A facility already exists at Star Swimming/Fairview that is used by Western Albemarle High School.

The executive summary misrepresents Claudius Crozet Park:


– Long history of working successfully with the County to provide affordable programs to all County residents, regardless of income.
– Subcontracted YMCA coaching and aquatics staff since 2004.
– Proven 50-year track record of successfully running the ONLY public pool in Albemarle County.
– Existing affordable public swimming is subsidized through regular fundraising (30 year bi-annual Arts and Crafts Fair).
– Pool expenses include facility costs and depreciation.
– Crozet Park has over $150,000 in banking assets and no debt. Limited fundraising is required for proposal.
– Commitment and mission of YMCA mirrors partnership responsibilities in Crozet Park request. See Executive Summary Attachment F.
– Air supported dome structures provide the highest aquatic programming return on investment.
– Concern of financial failure is unwarranted and not realistic. There are numerous options other than County “takeover” of operation.
– Monticello and Albemarle High School have numerous, more convenient training options available.
– Crozet Park proposal is the only option that provides reasonable access to Western Albemarle High School.
– The Crozet pool is already built and provides public programming.
– The adjoining 6,000 SF Community Building is already built and provides public programming.
– Crozet Park proposal can be accomplished in the least amount of time for the lowest cost.

In conclusion, Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. urges the Board of Supervisors not to support a recommendation that takes appropriations from Parks and Recreation to subsidize the replacement of an existing private facility, for a “questionable” benefit to a very limited County Schools program that does not require immediate assistance, at a time when financial resources are extremely limited.

If the focus of the request is only for additional options for high school swimming, Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. further urges the Board of Supervisors to re-evaluate the needs of high school swimming in relation to more important needs of City and County residents and in relation to the location of existing and proposed public and private facilities in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville. It is perfectly reasonable to expect that Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, The Piedmont Family YMCA, the University of Virginia, ACAC, Star/Fairview Swim and Tennis Club, and Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. can meet every indoor aquatic programming need for every resident throughout Central Virginia at a reasonable cost and in a reasonable time frame. Claudius Crozet Park, Inc. looks forward to participating in such a dialogue.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors of Claudius Crozet Park, Incorporated

Editor’s notes:

1 – Quite simply, in my humble opinion, the Park Board has been politically outmaneuvered. STAR Swimming has been working on this for years, and the Park Board is likely too late with their efforts.

2 – The only edits made to the above are formatting to improve readability on the blog or addition of links.

3 – The only connection I have to Crozet Park is that I live in an adjacent development and my family has had a lot of friends involved in competitive swimming.

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Recycle Those Christmas Trees at Crozet Park

From Albemarle.org –

The Christmas Tree Recycling Program collects discarded Christmas trees which are chipped into mulch and then offered to the public at no cost. This program has been in operation since 1988 and recycles over 3000 trees each year; which in turn yields over 144 cubic yards of mulch. Not only does this recycling program provide citizens a place to dispose of a potentially large and cumbersome item, it also reduces the impact on our landfill.

By combining forces with the Charlottesville Curb Side Pick-Up Program, the two programs collected over 5600 trees last year, yielding approximately 268 cubic yards of mulch. According to the City Public Works Department, their curbside pick up will be the week of January 12th, 2009. Trees must be at the curbside by 7am. Shortly after the City’s curbside pick up, the County and City Parks & Recreation crews will team up to chip the estimated 2600 trees at Darden Towe Park.

As a reminder, this program is for Christmas trees only, please no yard waste. Both the County & City programs require that all decorations, stands and nails be removed from the Christmas trees.

Free mulch will be available to citizen by February 2, 2009, at Darden Towe Park.

The County will operate seven sites daily, 7am till dark. The sites are as follows:

Chris Greene Lake in Earlysville
Crozet Park
Darden Towe Park
Greenwood Community Center
*Rivanna Solid Waste Authority Recycling Center on McIntire Road (*note: Sunday hours are 12noon – 5pm)
Scottsville Community Center
Walnut Creek Park

* The RSWARC on McIntire Rd. may be congested, please consider Darden Towe Park as an alternate location that has easy access and is suited better for large loads and contract haulers.

*** Editor’s note – I have pre-posted this in order to keep the above Crozet Park/Swimming post at the top.

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New Chiropractic Firm in Clover Lawn Shops

Editor’s note: I’m happy to publish press releases for local business – I think it’s good to keep the community aware and involved, and I’m always looking for story ideas! Also, it remains a bit odd to me that the Clover Lawn Shoppes have a Charlottesville address, despite clearly being in Crozet. Eventually I’ll get around to writing about all the new businesses in the Clover Lawn Shops (and I’ll welcome any submissions from you!)

NEW CROZET OFFICE CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING JANUARY 9TH

Drs. Brice and Megan Jackson announce the ribbon cutting ceremony of Connections Chiropractic Center in Crozet! Enjoy door prizes and healthy snacks!
Connections Chiropractic Center celebrates its Grand Opening and Ribbon-Cutting ceremony on January 9th at 3PM.

The office is conveniently located on Hwy 250 in Crozet in the Shoppes at Cloverlawn. The cozy atmosphere and friendly staff fit right in with the beauty of the surrounding Blue Ridge.

The Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce will assist with the ribbon cutting event. When you arrive you will be treated to a variety of healthy snacks, kid activities and several door prizes.

If you haven’t met the Jacksons yet, you’ll soon be impressed with their personable and inviting personalities. But don’t let their down-to-earth natures fool you; they have achieved a status in the chiropractic profession that less than half of all chiropractors ever achieve. In May, Dr. Brice Jackson will sit an international board to be recognized as a Diplomate in Chiropractic Neurology.

The title Chiropractic Neurologist may not mean much to you, but it means the world to the parents of the children they are able to help. Connections offers a specialized Fitness for the Developing Brain program to serve children with developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, AD/HD, OCD, Tourette’s, dyslexia, and bipolar disorder.

For adults, chiropractic neurology is especially effective for the treatment of movement disorders, stroke rehabilitation, chronic pain, migraines, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.

But the overall goal of all of Connections’ programs is to allow the body to heal sickness on its own and to keep it healthy for a lifetime. So partnering with each patient to implement lifelong wellness strategies is also a top priority.

If a non-drug, functional approach to lifelong health and well-being is something you would like in your family’s life, then visit Connections during their Grand Opening celebration. Come and enjoy some food, fun, chair massage, door prizes and kid activities from 3pm – 6pm Friday, January 9th. Located at 375 Four Leaf Lane #202, Charlottesville, VA 22958. Phone # 434-823-2199.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-01-04

  • Rumor – Mudhouse coming to Crozet! #
  • Back from playing pickup soccer at Crozet Park. Nice day for it! #
  • One of the best things about Crozety? all the Big Box stores in Waynesboro #
  • Trying to find a Journalism teacher at Western Albemarle High school for an idea for realcrozetva #
  • Mighty cold this morning. #

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Yoga at Claudius Crozet Park

It’s getting to where we have to go to Charlottesville less and less ….

Spirit Joy: Classes for Your Well-Being

What: Basic Yoga, Meditation & a little Art
A class to De-stress & Reconnect with your Amazing Self!

When: Mondays 6:30–8:30 pm.
Six Sessions 1/5/09 to 2/9/09
or
When: Saturdays 9–11:00 am.
Six Sessions 1/10/09 to 2/21/09 (no Saturday class on 1/17/09)

Cost: $90 for six week session.

($15 a class, let me know you are coming)

Where: Classes in Claudius Crozet Park Community Building

Spirit Joy: Classes for Your Well-Being
For more information and registration
Ursula Goadhouse, MSW
434-964-9565
www.spiritjoy.us

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Pool Enhancements coming To Crozet Pool?

Update 04 January 2008: Turns out the County is opting to recommend against funding the Crozet request.

From Albemarle County’s site regarding the January 7 meeting; if you live in Crozet, reading this proposal submitted by Crozet Park (PDF) would be a good idea.

Crozet Park (Attachment E)

The Crozet Park request is for a $350,000 contribution to be used for a 960 square foot addition to the existing pool building, HVAC equipment and a 14,170 square foot air supported dome over the existing swimming pool. The County contribution is 66% of the estimated $525,000 project. Crozet Park will begin a fund raising campaign to secure the remaining $175,000 if the County agrees to fund this proposal. The existing pool is an 8-lane, 25-meter pool with an additional zero depth beach entry. The anticipated lifetime of the structure is 15 to 20 years. The programming and operations of the facility will be provided through a lease arrangement with the YMCA. A letter of intent from the YMCA included with the Crozet Park proposal indicated their interest in entering into a long-term collaborative agreement “as soon as is practical” (Attachment F). The high school swim teams will have access to the pool for practice at a standard cost of $15 – $20 per lane hour. Crozet Park anticipates that the bubbled facility would be available for the start of the high school swim season in November of 2009.

Favorable Factors:

·         Most attractive proposal to Western Albemarle swim team.

·         Conveniently located to serve western part of County with potential non competitive swimming programs.

·         Least expensive request of 3 proposals.

·         Potential long-term partnership with YMCA.

·         Very committed Park Board has sustained outdoor pool annual operations without County assistance.

Concerns:

  • Commitment from the YMCA needs to mirror partnership responsibilities in Crozet Park request.
  • No history of working partnership with the YMCA.
  • Park financial records indicate total expenditures over revenues for the last 5 years to be $77,000.
  • Outdoor pool operation has shown a total deficit of $71,000 for the last 5 years.
  • Air structure is the least efficient pool covering and given financial performance of the existing park operations, unknown future economic conditions and lack of market information, seems to be a risky investment for the County, YMCA and the Park Board at this time.
  • If YMCA/Crozet Park partnership fails, County could become default owner and operator of the bubble.
  • Least attractive proposal to Albemarle and Monticello swim teams.

BUDGET IMPACT:

The budget impacts for all proposals are discussed above. The only proposal being recommended for consideration at this time is the Star proposal which would have a budget impact of $100,000 per year for 5 years.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The Committee has made the following recommendation to the CIP oversight committee:

  1. The County’s commitment to the YMCA should remain at $2,030,000 with no additional funding provided for the competitive pool in the final adopted 5-year plan.
  2. Funding for a more efficient Crozet Park pool enclosure system should be included in the out years of the CIP.
  3. Consideration should be given to funding the Star request at $100,000 per year over a 5-year period with the first $100,000 being provided from the existing Parks and Recreation capital budget in the spring of 2009, if the Star request is included in the final adopted 5-year CIP. Funding would be conditioned upon the execution of an agreement to assure the public and school use of the facilities as proposed.
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Take Steven Landes’ Legislative Survey

For those that don’t know, Steven Landes is our representative in Virginia’s House of Delegates. Every year, he sends out a mailer asking his constituents to fill out a legislative survey. The survey is here; my longstanding belief remains – if you don’t voice your opinion (especially when it’s requested), it’s not worth very much.

Learn more about Del. Landes’ legislation at Richmond Sunlight and find out who is donating money to him at the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).

Richmond Sunlight » Delegate Steve Landes (R-Weyers Cave)
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Search for Homes in Crozet and Brownsville School Districts

One of the single greatest limitations for buyers (or curious homeowners/renters) when searching for homes in Crozet using other home search tools is simple – you can’t search Brownsville and Crozet Elementary school districts in the same search. I have waited for years to be able to offer this type of tool.

As we all (probably) know, the two elementary school districts in Crozet are Brownsville and Crozet; now if you’re searching for a home in Crozet you can go to my nifty new Crozet Home Search page –

As before, my offer remains – if you want updates for your neighborhood, specifically for under contract or sold properties, please let me know.
I will never, ever, ever spam you. The retribution from karma would be too severe.