The city appears ready to dip into redevelopment funds so Point Loma families can take a dip of their own ” this time into a long-awaited public pool at the NTC Park at Liberty Station.
But community members aren’t out of the water just yet.
City Council is expected to vote whether to set up a capital improvements fund to start the planning phase on Tuesday, July 8, according to District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer.
The action would move $466,726 from the redevelopment agency into a fund that would be applied toward design of the aquatic center. Combined with a potential donation of between $5 million and $6 million from the San Diego Foundation’s Hervey Family Fund, the funds would make a good start toward making the center a reality.
“I’ve been working with the community and the city and looking forward to [July 8]. It was important to me to cut through the red tape. I’m looking forward to it, looking forward to the process and the community outreach,” Faulconer said.
Julie Cramer, the community coordinator for Families for a Point Loma Swimming Pool, has spent most of this decade wading through city’s red tape trying to get a 50-meter swimming pool and community aquatic center that includes two smaller pools and associated facilities at NTC Park.
Eight years, a city financial crisis, departmental reorganization and three Districty 2 City Council representatives later, it seems the city may be on the verge of forking over the money.
Over the last few weeks, Cramer had raised a wave of concern about when that money would be made available to move the project forward.
Cramer approached the Peninsula Community Planning Board on June 19 to ask for its support before the project goes before the city.
“[The City Council knows] that Point Loma High school, the college, the master swimmers, the children, the families here want a public swimming pool that they can enjoy,” Cramer said at the meeting.
The planning board voted unanimously to send a letter of support to the City Council to build the center.
Cramer also thanked the Hervey family for the potential contribution of $5 million to $6 million ” a hope that has kept the project afloat through the years, she said.
She also thanked District 2 council staff for their work and Faulconer’s leadership role.
Though Cramer and others in the community worked for years to get a community pool, the city has had a hard time getting it going.
In 2003, a City Council vote scratched plans for a pond and requested that city staff and the Corky McMillin Cos., the lead contractor for NTC Park, come to an agreement on how much money to set aside for the design of the aquatic center.
Many residents in the community didn’t want the pond feature for many reasons, including safety concerns, Cramer said.
McMillin officials were never obligated to help fund an aquatic center at NTC Park because the money for the center was never earmarked in the original budgeting, which was about $250,000 per acre set back in 1998, said Kimberly Elliot, senior vice president for McMillin.
A unanimous City Council vote in May shifted $466,726 in redevelopment agency funds to pay for the planning and design of the aquatics center. Now, officials need to set up the funding mechanism to actually start it.
Phase II of NTC Park’s construction would complete the remainder of the park and is made up of 28 acres of landscape, two large picnic tables, two restrooms, a playground for toddlers and the restoration of historic artillery guns. If pool advocates get their way, the plans will also include a Point Loma Community Aquatic Center.
The total cost of the park has gone up from about $15 million to just under $17 million because of rising construction costs, according to city officials.
McMillin pays for the construction of the park up front and the city reimburses the company from taxes levied on local residents and businesses, said Elliott.
Now that it seems all the city’s ducks are aligning in a row over the pool, only a “no” vote from the City Council would stop this part of the project.
NTC Park project manager Libby Day said the redevelopment agency is ready to pour money from the redevelopment agency into a capital improvements fund.
“We just want to give them the money so they can get started,” she said.
In other PCPB news:
“¢ Airport Authority representative Ted Anasis reported to the board on the San Diego International Airport Master Plan Report on Mitigation Procedures concerning the ultimate buildout of Lindbergh Field.
According to the report, effects on the environment, traffic, air quality, human health risks from gases, historic and cultural resources associated with airport land use and impacts on endangered and threatened species all remain significant even after mitigation.
“¢ An Airport Authority meeting over noise underneath flight paths, called the Part 150 study on airport noise compatibility, is scheduled for Thursday, June 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. on the third floor of the SDCIA Commuter Terminal.
“¢ A PCPB community outreach meeting about airport issues is scheduled for Sept. 25 at Point Loma Nazarene University.
“¢ The PCPB is currently accepting applications for a board vacancy. The vacancy should be filled by the July 17, meeting. Applications will be accepted until noon on July 17, according to a PCPB announcement.
The PCPB addresses Peninsula community planning and land-use issues and projects and plays an advisory role to the city of San Diego.
For more information on the Peninsula Community Planning Board meeting dates and times, board member application and additional information, visit www.pcpb.net.