Swim team waiting to see aquatic center budget outcome

The Columbus Hurricanes, the group that uses the Columbus Aquatic Center more than any other single group, is taking a wait-and-see position regarding the proposed reduction in hours at the center.

Columbus Council has reduced Mayor Teresa Tomlinson’s proposed budget for the Aquatic Center from $1.24 million to $990,000, but the budget will not be set in stone until it is voted on, which is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Parks and Recreation Director James Worsley told councilors Tuesday night that the reduction in funding would require a cutback in hours. The facility is currently open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1-6 p.m. Sundays. After July 1, it would be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. It will be closed Sundays.

Hurricanes President Steven Swinehart said that because the budget has yet to be finalized and could still be modified, he did not want to comment on it.

Dan Ohm, head coach of the Hurricanes, said he hasn’t heard firsthand exactly what the team’s available hours will be, so he also declined to comment on the cutbacks. But he did say that he has coached at many top-notch facilities, and the Columbus Aquatic Center “is right up there.”

“It’s a great facility, and I think the more it’s open, the better off everybody will be,” Ohm said. “I don’t think it’s realized its full potential or been given its full potential to be realized. It takes a little bit of time for pools to get the momentum they need to be successful. You can’t just turn it on and expect everything to fall into place. It takes time.”

Privately, the Hurricanes appear to be preparing for cutbacks, should the budget remain unchanged.

In an email to swim club parents Wednesday, Swinehart said shorter hours should not adversely affect the team’s practice schedule.

“Unfortunately, this impacts several users of the pool, but due to contingencies made by Parks and Rec, our swim team will not be greatly affected,” Swinehart wrote. “Because we pay to rent the facility, Parks and Rec will continue to open it at 6 a.m. for our club and will allow us to use it until 7:30 p.m. Meet fees may rise slightly in order to cover the cost of renting the natatorium on Sunday when it is typically closed.”

Asked about the possibility of renting time at the facility, Swinehart said, “I look forward to working with Parks and Rec.”

Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Holli Browder confirmed that it’s possible that the Hurricanes could pay for additional time, but nothing has been determined and can’t be until after the city budget is finalized and voted upon.

“We’ll meet with them afterward,” Browder. “We’ll work with them based on their needs.”

As for non-competitive swimmers, local attorney Fife Whiteside is a regular user who said he would be able to work around the new hours, but he thought it would impact some others who like to or have to swim early in the morning or later at night.

“I try to get in there two or three times a week, so I am a regular user, and I think it’s a shame they’re cutting the hours,” Whiteside said. “It’s going to have an impact on the really competitive swimmers who say they have to practice really early in the morning.”

Whiteside, a former member of the Muscogee County School Board, said Columbus Council dropped the ball in the beginning by not adequately funding the facility from the start.

“They made a mistake when they decided to build the pool by not making an adequate provision to provide for proper funding of it,” Whiteside said. “As I tell my clients, the worst thing that you can do in dealing with your problems is to refuse or fail to take responsibility for your mistakes. And I think that’s what’s going on here.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Swim team waiting to see aquatic center budget outcome."