splash September Newsletter
WE NEED 15 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME

On Monday, September 27, 2010 the Bellevue City Council began discussions of the city’s 2011-2012 budget. Now is the time for your voice to be heard at upcoming council meetings and through letters to the Council. We need your presence in the chamber so that the Council can see the public support.

A year and a half ago, the Bellevue City Council reviewed its consultant’s preliminary aquatic center feasibility study, expressed support for one of the design options, and asked City staff to find partners to fund this major civic project. During this time, other Eastside cities have begun taking action to solve the public pool shortage in their communities. Now it is time for the City of Bellevue to develop a plan to address the lack of public pools and inadequate facilities. Due to the current economic environment and the continued shortage of pool time,

The SPLASH Board requested the Council include the following in the upcoming budget:

  1. $300,000 for aquatic facility designs and studies,
  2. $2,900,000 for either (a) renovating the existing Bellevue Aquatic Center so it can be used for competition and other deep water activities, or (b) designing, constructing, and operating a temporary swimming pool facility in Bellevue for competition, recreation, education, and physical therapy uses.

SPLASH is continuing to work towards our mission to develop a world-class aquatics facility on the Eastside but in the interim we believe it is important for the Council to continue the study of a multi-use facility and to provide a short term solution to the lack of pool capacity.

WE NEED SUPPORTERS to attend the upcoming Council meetings and public hearing at Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave NE. To increase our visibility we have assigned groups to attend the meetings. If the assigned date does not work with you, please try and attend a different session. All meetings are on Monday night and public comments are at 6 pm or 8 pm. You will be allowed 3 minutes to speak (three speakers, maximum). We need to ask the Council to give the parks department financial support in this budget process to continue aquatic facility designs and studies and to address the immediate need of lack of pool time.

October 4, 8 pm – Bellevue School District boys and girls water polo teams, Bellevue High and Boys swim and dive teams, synchronized swim teams, tri athletes
October 11, 6 pm – CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROGRAM Plan (CIP) Discussion - Master swimmers, medical therapy groups, Chinook Swim Club, Midlakes teams
October 18, 8 pm – Newport High School girls and boys swim and dive teams
October 25, 6 pm - Bellevue Club swim team
November 1, 8 pm – Sammamish and Interlake High School girls and boys swim team
November 8, 6 pm – King Aquatics, YMCA BEST
November 15, 8 pm – PUBLIC HEARING, EVERYONE, Please wear blue or team gear

Email your councilmembers

Mayor Don Davidson ddavidson@bellevuewa.gov
Deputy Mayor Conrad Lee clee@bellevuewa.gov
Councilmember Grant Degginger gdegginger@bellevuewa.gov
Councilmember John Chelminiak jchelminiak@bellevuewa.gov
Councilmember Claudia Balducci cbalducci@bellevuewa.gov
Councilmember Jennifer Robertson j.robertson@bellevuewa.gov
Councilmember Kevin Wallace k.wallace@bellevuewa.gov

Attend a Parks Board Meeting at Bellevue City Hall, second Tuesday of the month

October 12, 6 pm
November 9, 6 pm