As noted in the Jan. 21 Bothell-Kenmore Reporter: “They’re all in synch … But St. Edward’s pool may close in March.”

If Northwest Center can’t negotiate a second five-year contract renewal with Washington State Parks and Recreation, the headline may prove true.

If Carole Ann Wald Memorial Pool at St. Edward State Park closes, it will be following a sad and quiet trend in Northshore, of which the public is little aware, and for which there has been little media coverage of the trend. Woodinville closed Sorenson Pool in 2002, and the Northshore School District closed the Dolphin Pool, in Woodmoor Elementary School, east and adjacent to Northshore Junior High, in June 2008.

The Wald Pool has been annually baseline supported by Washington State Parks and Recreation at $56k, the estimated annual cost to mothball the pool.

Other underwriters are the city of Kenmore, Evergreen Health (Hospital) and Bastyr University; the pool is managed by Northwest Center, a local nonprofit.

This will negatively impact Inglemoor High swim teams, which use the pool as their practice venue; Seattle Synchro for which the pool has been home base for years; and all the loyal local swimmers.

Next up will be Ruiz-Costie/Northshore Pool in downtown Bothell … May 2011, the date that the original Forward Thrust Bonds are retired. At that point, ownership reverts to property owner, likely the Northshore School District, which isn’t interested in being in the pool business.

The Northshore Parks and Recreation Service Area (NPRSA), a 1988 taxing authority with boundaries roughly mirroring Northshore School District, with the three cities and two counties, has commissioned two studies at more than $100k each, shared. One in 2003 and another in 2008.

NPRSA has successfully facilitated the past building of the Northshore Senior and Wellness Centers.

The cities and two counties (unincorporated areas in the NPRSA) aren’t in agreement about moving forward with public-pool outreach/education and a November 2011 levy ballot because of the current economic environment.

The clock is ticking. Even under favorable circumstances, you don’t negotiate/acquire land, develop permit ready plans and build a public building in 18-24 months.

Get involved and join my listserve/blog, to stay informed and reachable: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/Support_No…

Read and learn about the Northshore public pool crisis. Contribute what you know.

When it’s gone, it’s many, many times as harder to regain the loss.

William (Bill) Leak, Kenmore

Kingsgate jail site

is unacceptable

Since recently discovering that a property in the Kingsgate neighborhood was being considered as a possible site for a 640-bed jail facility, several members of the nearby residential community have become concerned. At a crowded public meeting Dec. 10, virtually everybody in attendance agreed that a jail facility at 3225 Northeast 126th Place (unincorporated King County) is unacceptable.

The proposed facility is to accommodate misdemeanor offenders for the Eastside cities and the city of Seattle. The idea of concentrating this group from a large urban area in an established community is ludicrous. No matter how many of the participating cities budgets may be trimmed on a cost per day, per bed basis, the social impact needs to be the principal factor in meeting these needs.

Also, the land on the north side of Northeast 126th Place is designated for multi-family use. A jail facility is not an appropriate land use.

In addition, police service in King County is almost nonexistent. Placing a revolving population of up to 640 criminals in a community little police service is ludicrous.

Streets in the area are also inadequate to accommodate additional use.

Quite simply, the responsible thing to do is for King County and the NECC to take action to remove the Northeast 126th Place site from further consideration as a jail site. It is irresponsible to continue spending taxpayer money on environmental impact studies when this property is not a viable candidate. It should never have been added in the first place.

Katherine McLean, Kingsgate