Residents and stakeholders react to Skillings Field pool proposal
In a three-hour meeting Tuesday night, members of Swim Winchester, who are advocating to build a swimming pool complex on Skillings Field, and residents from the Skillings neighborhood who oppose the proposed site shared their different visions and concerns regarding the future of Skillings Field.
Following presentations by both groups and numerous public comments, Winchester Select Board and School Committee voted unanimously on Jan. 16 to approve a resolution to move forward with the efforts on the northeast corner of the field.
The resolution subjects Swim Winchester, a volunteer non-profit organization spearheading the efforts, to a list of conditions they will be expected to meet in order for the pool to be approved by the town. Multiple actions will have to be taken prior to the actual construction of the complex, including the decision coming before Town Meeting.
“The resolution allows for Swim Winchester to go out to the outside community to begin fundraising efforts for the facility,” said Town Manager Richard Howard.
According to the resolution, it is expected that Swim Winchester will report back within two years that it can fund the construction of the facility, a timeline approved proposed and approved at the meeting. The group also committed not to draw on the town’s personnel and financial resources during the process. Swim Winchester will also consider the impact that the construction and the complex itself will have on the neighborhood, including traffic and parking.
$12 million needed
Members of Swim Winchester and their allies echoed a theme that the swimming pool complex would be a long-overdue community gathering place for residents of all ages.
“We want to make a pool a center for everyone in the community,” said Catherine Curtis, president of Swim Winchester.
With programming that goes beyond aquatic activities and is uninterrupted by cold weather, athletes, seniors, families and even non-swimmers will benefit from the facility, she said.
The group has already raised over $100,000, which includes grants from the En Ka Society, John and Mary Murphy Educational Foundation, Winchester Mount Vernon House, and Chinese American Network of Winchester. The estimated cost of the project is $12 million, a sum the group plans to raise with private donations. Membership fees will cover the maintenance of the facility once it’s built. The town would lease the land to Swim Winchester, a parcel of about 1.65 acres.
Kate Fosburgh, senior captain at Winchester High School, said she has been carpooling with seven other girls to a pool in Medford at 5 a.m. for practices.
“Having a swimming pool right in our backyard sounds absolutely incredible,” she said. With a home pool, swim meets would garner the kind of support that other high school teams get, she said.
For Michael O’Brian, who is suffering from several serious conditions including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s, a public pool he can easily access would be a tangible-asset to the town.
Advocates: Site the best option
Following a lengthy evaluation of 17 sites in town, Swim Winchester members are convinced that the field is the best option for the facility’s site.
Located on a former wetland and dump area, the site rose concerns about potential flooding due to the Aberjona River flowing in a culvert under the center of the field. However, the test borings conducted by consultants hired by Swim Winchester concluded that the site is environmentally and technically suitable for construction, according to geotechnical reports prepared by GEI Consultants.
Nailing down the location for the pool is key for Swim Winchester, so that the group can proceed with further cost estimates and fundraising plans, Swim Winchester member Tom Freund said.
“Now is the time and Skillings is the place,” Freund said.
Skillings Field neighbors respond
While the idea of a pool complex sounds appealing in theory, some community members believe the town is neglecting important factors that they say will impede the success of the project.
Jeff Dean from Friends and Neighbors of Skillings Field group said the resolution’s timing was premature, given the uncertainty of so many plans and Swim Winchester’s ambitious fundraising goal. The town’s options aren’t limited to Skillings either. Dean said other potential locations exist in the area including the pool on Forest Street. Winchester state Rep. Michael Day has already secured $6 million in the House budget for 2018 which could be applied to renovating that site, Dean said.
Dean also said the town hasn’t had a chance to hear from all stakeholders.
The study conducted for Swim Winchester by its consultants isn’t trustworthy either, according to Brian Sogoloff. The high-scoring feature like proximity to the high school would only benefit a small subset of athletes who swim. The facility would eliminate valuable field space already scarce in the town, he said, would cause shortage of parking space and create safety issues given increased traffic.
Traffic concerns resonated with many. Kerry Downey said the area near Skillings is unique to the town with its bike “gang” of kids regularly roaming the streets.
“They will be using our neighborhood as a rotary essentially,” she said.
In addition, Dean said data in Swim Winchester’s feasibility study suggested the town may potentially lose $600,000 a year following the proposed user fee revenue model. Maintenance of the facility may put the town in financial peril down the road, the opponents suggested.
Town officials on board
Members of Select Board and School Committee were on the same page about the necessity of the community pool and fitness complex in town. Select Board member Lance Grenzeback acknowledged that Skillings Field isn’t a perfect site, but after a thorough examination of other sites, “it beats the others by a considerable margin.”
Swim Winchester’s Curtis said the group is eager to continue the conversation with the neighbors of Skillings field.
“We’re willing to work on the concerns,” said Curtis. “When someone’s proposing a change that’s in your backyard, it can be difficult.”
Read the article and view photos here.
Letter to the Editor, Winchester Star
To the Editor:
As a long-time resident of Winchester,
I am writing to express my support for a community pool in Winchester. What would a pool add to our town? Here’s a short list of the benefits that could be enjoyed by all our residents:
- a community space where residents of all ages could gather for exercise, recreation, and socializing
- a locus for children’s swim lessons and water safety education
- a long overdue space for the Winchester High School swim team, as well as
- a rentable space for local water-based events
- a therapy pool providing a means for the rehabilitation for our recovering residents and opportunity for low impact exercise for our seniors
- a field house for the high school and town playing fields
- a draw to the downtown area benefiting local businesses and the commercial tax base
Unlike many neighboring communities, Winchester lacks a public swimming pool. It is unfortunate that given the affluence of our community, we have not invested in this asset that would serve all of Winchester’s residents from cradle to grave.
I have read about the neighborhood’s genuine concerns about increased traffic and loss of field space, but I respectfully disagree. As a close neighbor of the Lynch Elementary School, I am particularly sensitive to the sacrifices made by abutting neighbors. However, at Skillings Field maximum pool use would effectively occur during off hours for the high school and fields, minimizing congestion and making it an ideal arrangement. In addition, Swim Winchester is making a concerted effort to preserve as much field space as possible and embellish the current fields with a much needed field house.
A swim facility would be a focal point of a new state-of-the art athletics destination that would enhance our town for generations to come. Finally and importantly, the private-public partnership advocated by Swim Winchester is a smart way of moving this project forward and creating a wonderful asset for all town residents.
Joanna Alexander
Letter to the Editor, Winchester Star
Dear Editors,
The September 28 article about Swim Winchester and the Skillings field neighbors concerned us. Our daughter is a captain of the WHS girls’ swim team and we certainly see the enormous benefits of having an indoor pool located near the high school. Early morning practices are hard on the swimmers. The advantages of a home pool for practices and meets would include better safety for the boys and girls who drive to Medford in the dark, more community engagement with the team, and more kids trying out for the sport. More kids swimming would mean less burden on the field sports. But our bigger concern with the article was that it seemed to miss the idea that this community pool will be for everyone in Winchester, not just the high school athletes. At no cost to taxpayers, Swim Winchester will give us a great town asset—a place for kids’ swimming lessons, summer jobs for teens, a quick workout after work, exercise class for senior citizens, and fun on the weekends for whole families. Our family supports the community pool project and we hope others will too.
Sincerely,
Michelle and Rich Crawford
Letter to the Editor, Winchester Star
To the Editor:
The swimming pool proposed for Skillings Field would be a wonderful and long-needed addition to the Town of Winchester. While the high school swim team would no longer have to leave town to practice and compete, a good thing, the real winner would be the entire Winchester community: not only student-athletes but children of all ages, whole families, and seniors such as myself.
As a recently retired, long-time resident of Winchester, I would certainly welcome being able to walk to a pool at Skillings Field to swim a few laps from time to time. The pool would do me and many others a world of good.
The Town will provide the land, private donations will provide the money, and the new turf field recently approved by Town Meeting will provide the necessary playing fields.
Sounds like a win-win to me.
Stephen Anderson
Swim Winchester looking for donors for new aquatics center
7/15/2016
Winchester Star
By Bram Berkowitz
bberkowitz@wickedlocal.com
Posted Jul 15, 2016 at 2:45 PM
With Skillings Field designated as the preferred site for a proposed aquatics center, Swim Winchester is working to develop a pool of donors to fund the roughly $13 million project.
They are urging residents and other interested parties to dive in.
The group has launched a feasibility study to determine if the capital can be raised entirely from private donations. Along with the site recommendation, Swim Winchester members hope to tell selectmen in the fall they feel confident about obtaining the necessary funding.
“We are at the point where we need to know,” said Richard Solomon, a professional fundraiser who is leading the fundraising charge for Swim Winchester. “Can we raise the money? If we can’t raise the money, it stops right there.”
The aquatics center would likely include an eight-lane, 25-yard competition pool, a large warm-water recreational pool and space to potentially build an outdoor pool. Other proposed amenities are a fitness space, a multi-purpose event and meeting room and bleachers.
Efforts to build such a facility in Winchester date back to the 1960s. Swim Winchester was established in February 2013, and has proposed the aquatics center as a public-private venture, where the town provides the land and Swim Winchester funds the project.
The group raised $20,000 from more than 120 families in town to commission a feasibility study. At first, it appeared that the group would recommend the Wildwood Cemetery site for the project, but now Skillings Field has taken the lead.
“We firmly believe that Skillings Field is the most feasible site for the project based on the studies we’ve done and our consultations with geotechnical engineers,” said Catherine Curtis, president of Swim Winchester. “The site has challenges including soil quality and flooding concerns, which have been factored into the cost estimates and will be addressed in the design phase.”
One challenge of Skillings Field, according to Selectmen Chairman Lance Grenzeback, is determining who would be legally liable if construction workers dig up hazardous materials. In order to construct the culvert currently being built on the field, environmental remediation work is needed to cap hazardous materials, a situation that could arise if a new aquatics center was built on Skillings Field, he said.
Grenzeback, who said he is looking forward to seeing Swim Winchester’s presentation, also said the proposed site falls on the edge of the 100-year floodplain, bringing flooding issues into play.
Architect David Anderson, who created the early designs for the aquatic center, said, “The floor level of the pool building is planned to be several feet above the level of the field, mitigating flooding issues with the building.” Curtis said the building could serve as a cap for pollutants in the soil on that part of the field.
The location of Skillings Field, added Curtis, is also a huge advantage.
She said it is close to Winchester High School, making it a viable space for adaptive physical education, high school team training and as a place to watch other athletic events on the field from inside the center. It is also close to the downtown, making it an attractive feature for businesses, and near the Jenks Senior Center providing easy access for seniors, she said.
Solomon said the next few months are going to be crucial, as the organization plans to interview nearly 100 people to gauge support for the project, find volunteers and determine if raising the funds is possible.
“We are not soliciting any money at this point,” he said. “In order to project how much money we can raise, (we are asking questions such as,) what would you as resident give over five years to make this happen?”
Solomon said the organization would be looking for a lead gift of $3 million and hopes to raise $12 to $15 million all at once for the project.
“Seeing other projects in Winchester gives me hope this can be done,” said Solomon. “We know financial resources are out there. It’s just a matter of how much of a priority this is for the town.”
Tax exempt status!
10/9/2014
We are very pleased to announce that we’ve received confirmation from the IRS that Swim Winchester is a 501(c)(3) public charity. This means that all donations to Swim Winchester are tax deductible retroactive to our incorporation date in February 2013.
Our generous current donors — listed here — will receive a letter from us stating the contribution amount for their records.
If you have not yet donated, now is a great time to consider a gift! We are currently asking for small donations ($20 to $500) to help us work with our architect and town officials to identify the most appropriate site for the facility. You can donate securely by credit card through our website www.swimwinchester.org or send a check to Swim Winchester, P.O. Box 44, Winchester MA 01890.
We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Carol Tedesco of Tedesco Law Offices who donated her time for a reduced fee to submit the IRS application. Her expertise was very much appreciated.
Feasibility study says “yes” to a Winchester pool
9/5/2014
In spring 2013, Swim Winchester hired St. Louis-based Counsilman-Hunsaker, a leading aquatics consulting firm from St. Louis, to evaluate the pool initiative. Here are some highlights of the feasibility study:
Winchester can support a self-sustaining aquatics facility
The “ideal” facility would have an 8 lane competition pool and a warmer recreational pool, plus a fitness space and event room
An optional add-on outdoor pool would bring in additional revenue and meet strong summer recreational demand
The facility would have user fees (memberships and day passes) and would not need to rely on subsidies from the town of Winchester
The total cost to build is estimated at $11-13 million, with the outdoor add-on approximately $2 million
A link to the full study is available on our website home page: www.swimwinchester.org If you would prefer to receive a copy by mail please let us know. As always, we rely on your feedback, observations, and questions to shape this project. We are an all-volunteer, grassroots initiative so your participation is important. Together we can build a beautiful fitness facility as a lasting legacy for Winchester!
Our next step is to work on a site selection study to find the best location for the pool. Donations towards this work are gratefully accepted here: Donations We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the wonderful donors that made the feasibility study possible. Your support is recognized here.
Thank you,
The Swim Winchester Board of Directors
Swim Winchester presentation Winchester School Committee
5/13/2014
Watch the Win Cam video of Swim Winchester Board Members Catherine Curtis and Gary Coccoluto presenting the preliminary feasibility study results to the Winchester School Committee. The Swim Winchester presentation begins at minute 58.