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The Don’t Shrink Our Pool campaign greatly appreciates the Lawrence City Commission’s Oct. 15 decision to maintain our outdoor pool’s open swim space and 50-meter lap lanes. Our coalition believes this decision reflects our community’s true desires for a pool renovation, and we thank the commission!
Unfortunately, our coalition’s campaign arose because the public and the commission were misinformed and public opinion was ignored throughout this project’s planning process. Our petition’s 1,764 signatures, our supporters’ 75 letters, and our research into the extensive flaws in the project’s community engagement process all indicate that the previously proposed plan did not reflect public opinion.
In spite of this, Parks and Rec Director Luis Ruiz concluded the Oct. 15 commission meeting by stating, “we have not ignored public opinion in any way” and “the sentiment that we’re not listening is not really factual.” This response continued the pattern of misinformation and dismissal of public opinion that we observed throughout the pool renovation process, which makes our coalition concerned that our residents’ opinions may continue to be dismissed in the next steps of this project.
To substantiate our claims that public opinion was ignored, I documented all of my research about the omissions and errors in the pool renovation community engagement process. Our coalition will share this research at the Commission’s Nov. 19 meeting, so join the meeting on Zoom to learn more!
Krebs-Pool-project-omissions-and-errorsWe believe this information justifies the need for a resident oversight committee that continually reviews and advises on the pool renovation for the remainder of this project, and we request that the city commission appoint this committee. We believe that consistent feedback from this committee will hold city staff and consultants accountable for creating a pool renovation that best serves our community. We have many well-informed pool users who would be happy to serve on this committee, and they would provide valuable user feedback to inform the renovation.
I also believe it is important for the commission and our community to know how we were misled through this process, and I hope that bringing this information to light can improve the planning process for this project, as well as for other city projects.
The city’s first commitment to its residents in its strategic plan is community engagement, and this process is meant to “drive action and build trust in City government.” It erodes trust when city staff dismisses resident input and misinforms city commissioners and Lawrence residents.
A resident committee would allow community members and our city staff to work together collaboratively, which could help rebuild trusting relationships between our community and our government. Additionally, the city’s communications and community relations department will be assuming community engagement support on this project going forward. Our coalition looks forward to working with this city department that knows our community better than out-of-town consultants, and we hope that our community can rebuild trust through this work with the city’s communications and community relations department.
— Holly Krebs (she/her), Lawrence
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