Letter to all City Council and Parks & Rec Commission Members

Dear Newton City Councilors and Members of the Parks & Recreation Commission, 

As the Board of the nonprofit Friends of Albemarle, we’ve listened to input about the Gath Pool redesign from many key stakeholders, community members and the 1,500+ respondents of our recent survey done in collaboration with the city. 

It has led us to one conclusion: we must act on the opportunities in front of us to rebuild Gath before it fails beyond repair while also addressing the clear need for an indoor pool.

We propose two parallel projects: 

1. Continue to rebuild an outdoor Gath Pool as planned with funding requested from the CPC. This rebuild should include a competitive structure that promotes athleticism alongside recreation. We also propose that it include the correct anchoring for a bubble should a future determination lead our community to bubble it outside of the summer season. 

2. Take the steps necessary to put a community-accessible indoor pool on the CIP. One clear candidate location is Newton South, where the space exists for an addition, and a swim team is waiting to make use of the facility. It is an equitable choice since Newton North already has a pool, allows students swim time during the day, and is currently overtaxed with users including the students at Newton South. We would need to restructure the use of both pools to allow for true community access so that Newton residents are not pressed into a choice of high fees at private pools or nothing. Failing this last point, we propose a Newton Community Recreation Center on the grounds of Newton South that is accessible to both students and community members. 

If we don’t recognize the importance of the second project it will undermine the effectiveness of the first project. The time to act is now. 

Thank you,

The Board of The Friends of Albemarle

Megan Anapolle, Jacqueline Freeman, Cedar Pruitt