During the Jan. 6th 2009 Town Council meeting the Mayor made a statement to the effect that the Aquatic Center had been in development for 12 years. A review of the Town Council meeting minutes and the 2 Parks and Recreation Master Plans support this statement but does not support the Aquatic Center as it has developed.
(Keep a watch out for the Audios and NOW Videos of the meetings on the website. I update them as quickly as I can.)The initial concepts for the Aquatic Center was based upon research done by
Parks and Recreation Dept. for their 10-year Master Plan. This is a very well written and researched document (
as is the revision of it from the year 2000). Both of these clearly indicated the need for an Aquatic Center and DEFINE Aquatic Center as being a swimming pool with some racquetball courts attached at an estimated total price of less than $5,000,000 of taxpayer money. That definition did not change in the public eye until approximately 4 years ago.
There is a chronological report available that documents all Town Council minutes concerning the Aquatic Center.Somehow, over time, this plan mutated into something much bigger and at 3 times the cost to taxpayers. Where was the public discussion on this? If the existing structure has been planned for the last 12 years, then what happened to the citizen input related to the Parks and Recreation Dept. Plan? Mr. Price did an extraordinary job of gathering and evaluating citizen input. (These are the two best developed documents that I have seen come from the town.)
Again, I will note, that because the Aquatic Center was mentioned in the
Comprehensive Plan (but was not defined by size or potential uses), there were no reviews required (or performed that I have been able to find) to study the impact on stormwater, emergency response resources, traffic, or anything else. It is interesting to consider that at the time the Comprehensive Plan was written the only definition of the Aquatic Center that existed was the one found in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan of a swimming pool with attached racquetball courts.
Next blog: "How could the Mayor and Town Manager NOT know about an event already scheduled to occur in Christiansburg that uses the Aquatic Center and will necessitate roadways being blocked off?"