The debate of whether to keep a pool or a tennis court was asked by a poll in the Sun recently.
I think that the commentaries derived from it stem from the sheer want and need of recreation to stay where it’s always been. Everyone I know has been to the McGaugh Pool at one time or other. The tennis courts too have been appealing to all as well.
Recently McGaugh was rededicated since it was refurbished with lights and necessary upgrading, but the pool and tennis courts that sit on that property were not included in that project. That is because Measure K was worded very specifically for school buildings. Sadly, now a school is redone but not the very things that could add to the physical education of children and to the community.
Years ago when schools in general were built in California, recreation was built on the properties since the purpose of schools was to invite the community in.
It was also more economical to build school and community facilities together.
The problem I see now is that the neighborly concept is separated when the reconstruction comes. All of the sudden the school is one part and the recreational facilities are a separate entity. That is strange, for both in essence were together from the inception.
The problem with the government in California is that it creates areas like this one and then separates the funding for each. That should not be happening.
Pools and tennis courts are both important outlets to physical education for children. In this day and age of news reports telling us our children are getting fat, well, I think that alone makes the point that schools like McGaugh should be the exception when it comes to recreation.
If playgrounds can be repaired—then why not something more significant like pools and tennis courts?
Our own governor has a program to get all kids fit, yet fails to give us what we need and that is funding for facilities for our children’s physical education.
What I propose is to keep what we have and to find a way to fund it. There must be something within California’s system to fix community facilities on school property. If there isn’t, then the governor should create it since he said physical education was important to the health of all children in our state.
Sadly, recreation has suffered greatly in Seal Beach, and all for tax revenue. Pacific Gateway, the past project and currently professional buildings which now sit next to Boeing is one example of that.
The created Heron Point Homes that sit on the hill is another.
Yet another example is the then-new Old Ranch Towne Center which sits across from Seal Beach’s new Shops at Rossmoor.
What these amount to is money for Seal Beach, but no recreation is in sight.
The one thing that Seal Beach, a nice tight knit community deserves is a sport complex, but we don’t have one. We go from one city to another to get that, but not in our own back yard.
There is controversy around that idea, for everyone doesn’t want noise right next to them.
Yet we clog up the streets with our cars, and for what? For the chance to find recreation somewhere, but it’s hard. We have to go outside the community to find it since it plainly isn’t here, and that’s sad.
My proposal is for Seal Beach to find a spot, one that will satisfy everyone for recreation and create it. I’m not sure what land is left, if any, but that is the proposal I have on the table.
We need to think of what the community is really saying when they don’t want existing recreation to just disappear. They need recreation because they are tired of leaving our fair town, day in and day out.
Enea Ostrich is a longtime resident of Seal Beach’s College Park East neighborhood.
