Ryland Pool-keep up the good work!

The response to the Ryland Pool call to action has been amazing across the various neighborhoods. We need to keep this response up in order to ensure that the message we send is strong, clear and concise.

Although this is an individually important issue, a successful resolution due to our efforts will set the stage and precedent for future issues. City government needs to recognize that they work for us: the residents of the City of San Jose. And although we understand that running the City of San Jose is very much a balancing act of many different priorities and demands from many different communities, the City needs to do a better job at providing for its tax-paying inhabitants when it is crystal clear what we demand. We have put our money where our mouth is and we need to continue this strong support to save Ryland Pool and cement our position as a significant force when it comes to future battles.

San Jose is a great City, but it has the potential to be much greater. These next four years represent an ideal opportunity to whip this city into shape. All the pieces are coming together but we must be a strong and unified voice if we are to have any hope in taking advantage of this new momentum. We need to choose areas in which we all can cooperate to keep things moving forward. I cannot stress this enough–we must all cooperate and think about how to help San Jose run more efficiently and more effectively. We must guarantee the maintenance of our current assists before building new ones and we must reduce waste spending. Taking these steps, we can then look forward to building a better, stronger San Jose. But we must not repeat past mistakes by taking funds from maintaining our current assets to build new ones. That is what got us into this position and, additionally, it is fiscally irresponsible.

Save Ryland Pool !!

You may have read the San Jose Mercury News story this morning, http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16638932.htm, about the city's "aquatics master plan" process, which could spell the death knell for Ryland Pool, downtown's only public pool.

"Ryland Pool, whichwas built in 1925 by the Rotary Club, doesn't have the land around it for expansion and 'is not conducive for the kind of pool we think downtown needs," the Mercury News quoted deputy director of parks, recreation and neighborhood services Cynthia Bojorquez.

However, that "we" is the parks staff and their $250,000 consultants. Not us.

Downtown residents love their historic Ryland Pool, which is great for kids, and the sort of walkability, neighborhood-friendly downtown we want. "'The small pools are much better in the neighborhoods,'" Lou Chiaramonte, who owns the century-old Chiaramonte's Market on N. 13th St. and who learned to swim in Ryland Pool as a kid more than half a century ago.

You can help the effort to save Ryland Pool by joining Friends of Ryland Pool, a subgroup of 13th St. NAC, a 501c(3) non-profit which is part of San Jose's Strong Neighborhoods Initiative. If the city won't re-open Ryland Pool, we downtown residents, working together, can do it ourselves for a fraction of the cost.

Please consider emailing your councilmember, Sam Liccardo at sam.liccardo@sanjoseca.gov. Or call his office at 535-4903. Tell him that we want Ryland Pool opened immediately.

You can also attend important meetings and voice your concerns: Tonight, February 7 at 5 pm at city hall room w-120, the aquatics master plan is being presented to the parks commission. Then, on Tuesday, February 27 at 7 pm at city hall, the city council will have a study session on the aquatics master plan.

You can also make a tax deductible donation (consult your tax preparer) to Friends of Ryland Pool online at www.13thStNAC.org.