John Muir, “father” of our National Parks said, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” Growing up close to Garfield Park meant that it was such a place for many of us. My sister, cousins, friends, and I often rode our bikes there to play or swim. It’s where the Raiders taught many of my friends to play football or cheer and where we watched our dads, and the legendary Bobo Smalls, play in the Twilight League.
Fast forward 30 years, and Garfield continues to play a major role in the fabric of not only the surrounding neighborhoods, but the entire city. It’s the home of Garfield Pool, the Boys & Girls Club, host of the Seahawks Youth Football and Cheer Program, and countless other functions. Additionally, the VA, other entities, and individuals use the pool before it opens to the public for therapy purposes. In fact, a woman who lost her leg during knee-replacement surgery quite literally regained her footing by exercising there. Garfield is one of our three busiest parks and the only time it slows down is during the winter.
Therefore, imagine our dismay in 2020 during the height of COVID when our Public Works Team recommended that we not open the pool due to facilities issues. Outdoor recreation was one of the last permissible activities, and it put us in a terrible predicament. After much deliberation, we decided that we would open the pool.
Fast forward again to 2021, and the pool had become structurally unsafe to reopen. We commissioned a study that provided costs of what it would be to either restore our existing pool or build a new one at a different location. It was projected that restoration would be $3.5 Million and building new would be $9-$11 million plus land acquisition. While we were close to having enough money in reserves for restoration, we weren’t quite there and we had no clue where we would get enough money to start from scratch.
In 2022, we were awarded $24.7 million in ARPA funds. After much public feedback and discussion, we determined that we would use some of that money to restore the pool, add waterslides (an additional $1.5 million), and make $1.9 million in upgrades to Garfield Park. Unfortunately, an answered prayer for funding quickly became an exceedingly tough decision when we put the project out to bid and it came in more than 3 times the original projection. The quote “Life is like swimming; sometimes you hit a wall, turn around, and just keep going,” had never been so poignant.
Why had the project suddenly become so expensive? A 40%+ increase in the price of building materials bumped the former proposal to $9.7 million. The state notified us that our existing pumphouse and bathhouse would need to be upgraded to meet current code, adding another $1.9 million and $1.8 million respectively for a total of $13.4 million. Building a new pool would make the total project cost approximately $20 million.
The City Council had a seemingly impossible decision to make: invest over half of our ARPA funds in the Garfield project or close the pool. On the one hand, this was a lot of money that could be used for other things, and on the other, if we closed the pool, we would almost certainly never have one again. We proceeded.
We struggled mightily with whether or not we made the right choice. However, now that the pool portion of the project is nearing completion, we’re certain that we did.
In the words of author Marty Rubin, “Parks and playgrounds are the soul of a city.” No matter where you come from, this will be a safe place that’s tons of fun. Youth will have another option for work and play during the summer and generations of Danville families will make a lifetime of memories together. The pool will also bring people from outside the city to a place that positively reflects who we are. It’s hard to put a price tag on all of that.
By saving Garfield, we’re demonstrating to ourselves and others that we deserve excellent amenities while making this an even better place to live, work, invest, and play. Although the entire project won’t be quite finished yet, we hope you will join us this summer for a splash-tastic time at the Danville Aquatic Center at Garfield Park.