By Jennifer, a Chippewa Falls resident, who read this letter at a city council meeting.
I am a busy mom and stepmom to 6 boys, all of whom have greatly enjoyed the outdoor pool in their lives. One of my sons even held his first job at the pool concession stand!
My oldest son, now 21, lives with special needs, primarily autism. Carter has always loved the water, as it calms him and makes him very happy. He can be difficult to take in public places, but at the pool, he was always happy and busy. For many of the years when my children were young, I was a low-income single mother. Carter’s social workers were able to assist me in obtaining pool passes, and I always had an affordable source of entertainment and enjoyment for my children.
In addition, my children have all taken several sessions of swimming lessons at the pool. If we do not have a place for all children to be able to access swimming lessons, many of them will never obtain the skills necessary to be safe and comfortable in the water. Although our community has many beautiful water sources, they are not all safe for swimming; what will happen when we take away both a safe place for swimming, and access to lessons?
Our family has also spent time at several other local pools who successfully remain open, such as Eau Claire, Menomonie, and Thorp. They are all wonderful facilities, but of course we would prefer to keep our money in Chippewa Falls! People know and love Chippewa Falls for our family-friendly attractions, and our economy will be impacted when people take their money elsewhere.
Council members, I implore you to listen to your concerned residents and work together with us to explore possible solutions. You have been elected to this role because your constituents trust you to keep our city wonderful. There simply must be a better option than to just close the facility altogether and take away the enjoyment, safety, and memories of our future generations. I believe that if we work together creatively, we can accomplish a better solution for all.
