January 2009

Piney Branch Pool Lives Again

Extraordinary Cooperation Brings Back Hidden Gem

Ron Wylie (center) of Adventist Community Services sees managing the Piney Branch pool as part of his mission to serve the low-income members of the community. On his right is Tim Cooper from the Steve Francis foundation.
Mayor Bruce Williams and Piney Branch principal Bertram Generlette ("Mr G") took the plunge to celebrate the reopening of the pool. Photos by Julie Wiatt

This month, the Piney Branch Pool, the only public indoor pool in Montgomery County inside the beltway open to families, opens its doors once again. A Grand Opening was scheduled for January 6th, with a plan for local officials to jump into the pool.

Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington (ACSGW) will oversee the pool operations, filling the role left open when the YMCA shut down the pool 16 months ago. For the latest on pool hours and program scheduling, go to acsgw.org/pool.htm.

The pool will be open for early bird lap-swimming before school hours, for swim lessons and recreational swimming in the evenings and on Sundays, and for class and party rentals. Those interested in teaching classes or proposing other pool programs can e-mail PoolPrograms@acsgw.org.

Ever since the pool was drained and padlocked in August of 2007, the community has been fighting to save the pool from demolition. The school system saw the Piney Branch Pool as an anomaly and no longer wanted responsibility for it, even though it was built inside a public school.

Montgomery County Recreation Department was no longer willing to run a pool that doesn’t fit the model of larger, elaborate indoor pools which bring in more revenue upcounty. The City of Takoma Park considered whether the pool could be converted into the long-awaited city gym, but yet another school gym would not give the city the kind of access they need.

A coalition of informal “Save the Pool Committee” members met for over a year, trying to find a solution to the conundrum of how to preserve this unique resource in a time of scarce resources.

County Councilmember George Leventhal led the effort, with support from Councilmembers Valerie Ervin and Marc Elrich, Board of Education member Chris Barclay, Takoma Park Mayor Bruce Williams and City Councilmembers including Colleen Clay, Josh Wright and Dan Robinson, City Recreation Committee members led by Kay Daniels-Cohen, and community, PTA and student activists. The students of Piney Branch Elementary school, who swim in the pool during gym class, gathered hundreds of names on petitions, and lobbied government officials. They pointed out that generations of Takoma Park and East Silver Spring natives first learned to swim in the Piney Branch Pool.

Finally, City Councilmember Terry Seamens had a brainstorm and pitched the idea to ACSGW President Ron Wylie. Wylie’s organization supports local families through a food bank, computer and English classes, and many other services. Wylie saw the abandoned pool at the heart of Maple Avenue as part of their mission. “We are honored to be asked by the community to yet again serve local low-income families in a way that promotes health, wellness and recreation,” said Wylie.

The County Council liked the idea of channeling funding for the pool through a community non-profit such as ACSGW and voted to approve funding that would allow for repairing the pool and reopening it this year. Robin Riley from the Aquatics Division of the County’s Recreation Department coordinated the pool repairs, even installing new drain guards to bring the pool up to the latest safety codes.

Now that the pool is operating again, we need to prove to the County that they should continue funding the pool. That means using the pool, and showing the County that it is not obsolete just because it is small. “The pool is a great resource for both the school kids and community. It had been a real disappointment that it fell into disuse,” says City Councilmember Seamens. “The reopening is great not just because it gives people an opportunity to swim, but it’s a great community-building tool.”

Already, we must begin the battle for funding to keep the pool open next year. Part of the reason the pool fell into disrepair is because nobody knew it was there. The pool is local, efficient, good for your body, and cheaper than going to the movies. In these dark days of winter, come swim with your neighbors and show the County that Maple Avenue deserves and needs this pool.

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