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LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| Cutting the ribbon — the politician’s favorite duty — at the dedication ceremony for the new East Portland Aquatics Center are, from left, City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, an unidentified helper, Commissioner Nick Fish, another unidentified ribbon-cutter, and Parks & Recreation Bureau Director Zari Santner. |
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| After the ribbon cutting ceremony young swimmers try out the 120-foot slide at the new East Portland Aquatics Center. Financed principally through a 2003 parks levy, Mid-county’s first — and long awaited — public pool was six years in the making. |
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| Politicians weren’t the only sharks at the official dedication for the new East Portland Aquatics Center held last month. The small slide beneath a large ceramic shark looks daunting to the young swimmer. the pool is located at the east end of the East Portland Community Center, 740 S.E. 106th Ave. |
| Memo Photos: Megan Ford |
The new facility on the east end of the East Portland Community Center, 740 S.E. 106th Ave., has in fact been open for public use since mid-February. It contains a conventional 20-yard four-lane lap pool, a warmer pool containing a vortex channel of flowing water, a 120-foot slide and a small slide for children beneath a large ceramic shark, two lap lanes with warmer temperatures and a warm soaking pool with room for 25. Other features include a zero-depth entrance for the disabled and timid, special chairs to facilitate handicapped entry, solar heating and a recycling pump system that should save a million gallons of water per year. It is served by facilities including family changing rooms, recreation rooms for birthdays as well as rooms for other special occasions.
PP&R Bureau Director Zari Santner said the first state of the art recreation pool was made possible through the generosity of Portlanders. It was financed principally through a 2003 parks levy, later supplemented by City Council under the leadership of Mayor Tom Potter when the original funding fell short. She paid tribute to the persistence of east Portland volunteers, including Linda Bauer, Linda Robinson and Michelle Winningham.
Saltzman, who served as parks commissioner until January, called the new facility “an idea long in the making ... It’s not only the best in Portland, but probably the best in the country in terms of sustainability ... It’s a milestone for the people of east Portland who deserve this.”
Fish, the new parks commissioner, said, “You have said that (City Hall) was not listening to you. This is an example of City Hall listening. But we’re not done yet.” He announced the imminent adoption of master plans for Beech, Parklane and Clatsop Butte parks (see article this issue). “We celebrate a new partnership with east Portland,” Fish said.
The center represented a partnership as well with the David Douglas School District, which donated some of the land for the pool facility, and land contributor Portland Adventist Medical Center and Multnomah County. “This was truly a collaborative process,” Santner said. Winningham pronounced the new facility “awesome.” Another volunteer, Parkrose’s Mary Walker, was also impressed but said she wanted to see a true community center in Parkrose, not just space in a school. Ordinary citizens seemed to share Winningham’s view, as the East Portland Community Center’s parking lot reached full capacity for the first time ever.
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