Last night, after hearing presentations from your Walnut Creek Aquatic Foundation, Harley Ellis Devereaux, (HED), and deliberating, a process that took 2 1⁄2 hours, the Walnut Creek City Council selected HED as their partner to move forward in the planning, construction, and operation of a new aquatics facility at Heather Farm Park.
This is disappointing news for those who have put in many hours preparing our proposal. This is especially so for the professionals who gave of their time freely. Those include Ken Moeller of Arch Pac Construction, Robert Jackson from FORMA Gym, Jim McClelland of McClelland Architectural and Jim King of Jim King Financial Advisors. Please thank them if you have the opportunity. Also special thanks to President Mike Heaney who has led the charge and spent countless hours on our behalf.
Thanks are also due to the more than 130 individuals who submitted email messages to the City Council. These were read by council members and will go a long way to insure that our input will be a part of any new facility.
On the positive side, several city council members expressed their commitment to building a facility that will accommodate the three swim teams and HED said that they would include the Aquatic Foundation in their planning process for a new facility. This was an important point for the council members. Those of us in attendance believe that we will have a significant voice in what the new facility will look like. While nothing is yet decided, HED presented three potential layouts for the facility. Two of them included a 50 meter pool.
Now is not the time to rest. Next, the city will work out a scope of work for HED and then the planning process will begin, (again). We will need to keep pressure on the city council and staff to insure that we get a facility that will meet the aquatics needs of our community for many years to come. The Walnut Creek Aquatic Foundation will continue its efforts and will keep you informed as to how you can help.