League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Alameda County, CA June 8, 2010 Election
	Measure C Bond Measure for the Berkeley Community Facilities District No. 2 City of Berkeley 2/3 Approval Required Fail: 16341 / 62.24% Yes votes ...... 9912 / 37.76% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure C

Arguments Against Measure C

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE C Berkeley's municipal swimming pools are a treasure. Countless children, families, the disabled and elderly rely on them for revival and relaxation, exercise and swim instruction. All four of our municipal pools are deteriorating and near the end of their useful lives. The outdoor pools at King, Willard and West Campus were built in the 1960s. They leak and their pool houses are in disrepair. The indoor Warm Pool must vacate its 81-year-old building at Berkeley High School to make room for new school facilities. If Measure C is not approved, Willard Pool will be closed permanently in July 2010 and the Warm Pool will be lost forever in 2011. In 2000, Berkeley voters showed their loyalty to the pools, approving a Warm Pool bond measure by a landslide 76 percent. Unfortunately, those funds cannot be spent because they were restricted to the High School site, which was subsequently slated for demolition. In 2010, there's no more time to lose. Measure C will repair Willard and West Campus pools. King pool will be expanded to accommodate rising demand from the Barracudas youth team, the Masters team, lap swimmers and families; and the Warm Pool will be rebuilt at West Campus. All pools will become more energy efficient. Measure C also provides operating funds to support aquatic hours and programs despite the worsening budget crisis. In recent decades, Berkeley made far-sighted decisions when it counted--undergrounding BART, saving our waterfront from development, building parks like Ohlone and Cedar Rose, providing emergency services for the disabled, and supporting our schools and libraries. Measure C will add to that legacy, one in which we, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will take great pride. VOTE YES on Measure C, for our seniors, the disabled, our families and our children. Loni Hancock State Senator Nancy Skinner California State Assemblymember Dmitri Belser Disability Advocate; individually and on behalf of, President, Ed Roberts Campus Tom Bates Berkeley Mayor Margo Y. Reed Berkeley PTA Council, President Rebuttal to Arguments For Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Measure C Berkeley Pool Bond Measure Let's make reasonable choices that benefit everyone, including Berkeley's swimmers. Berkeleyans (tots, teens, adults, disabled) can use Cal`s pools/programs BUSD disabled students use YMCA pools Giving Berkeley's senior and disabled swimmers Cal or YMCA memberships costs only about 1% of this measure`s maintenance. These pools meet needs of nearly all warm pool swimmers: children, adults, pregnant, seniors, obese, arthritic, multiple sclerosis per the Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA). Measure calls for demolition of a National Landmark NO mention of green technology to heat or build pools 91F pools have limited usability, not recommended for tots, children, pregnant, arthritic, seniors, obese If a regional hot pool is needed, enlist partnerships like Palo Alto did. In 2007 Palo Alto received $5,274,346 from public and private sources, city taxpayers paid only $40,356. Berkeley faces skyrocketing debt and hundreds of millions in unfunded liabilites. $22,500,000 for construction and $3,500,000 annual maintenance -- with annual adjustments tied to the highest inflator -- is too expensive, especially when Berkeley is cutting essential services City and BUSD should serve the public better: School districts everywhere open their pools to the community outside school needs, why won't BUSD?* In the 70's Berkeley's Measure Y provided for our right to use school facilities, for recreation, outside school needs. Public funding, public use. This measure needs to be rewritten to better serve Berkeley`s residents. Keep Berkeley swimming with better, greener, sustainable alternatives, a legacy we can be proud of. VOTE NO. Marie Bowman individually and on behalf of, Steering Committee Chair, Berkeleyans Against Soaring Taxes (BASTA!); President, Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA); Former Chair and Commissioner, City of Berkeley Housing Advisory Commission (HAC); Former President and Board Member, Council of Neighborhood Association, (CNA); Co-block Captain, Blake and California Neighborhood Association; Former Warm Water Pool Swimmer; and Guardian of Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) Students Henrik Bull Architect; Participant, Berkeley High School (BHS)/Berkeley Unified School Dist (BUSD) Charrette on the Original BHS Gym and Warm Water Pool; Parent of BUSD Children Dean Metzger President of CENA, Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Assoc.; Former ZAB Commissioner; Former Transportation Commissioner Chair William D. Hermann Professor of Economics and North East Berkeley Association (NEBA) Board-Member George S. Oram, Jr. Founder of Elmwood Realty and Founder of Berkeley Can Do Better; Parent of BUSD Student

ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE C We like to swim. We support both our city and schools, but let's make the choices that benefit everyone in our community, not just a narrow interest group. Better, greener alternatives exist: Berkeley has 15 pools: 9 public, 6 private (3 non-profit). Rehabilitating existing pools can be done at 1/3 the cost! The greenest facilities are the ones already built; demolition and construction burn fossil fuels, choke landfills and waste resources. For warm pool needs, giving Berkeley's senior and disabled swimmers passes to YMCA or Cal Stars wouldn't cost millions, and would help keep those facilities economically viable. If a new regional facility is truly needed, Berkeley should pool funding (get it?) from other cities, like we did for Gilman Sports Fields and Palo Alto did for their warm pool. Our finances are stretched too thin already: Unemployment is 11.3%, a ten year high Berkeley's municipal debt skyrocketing: $4 million this year, $14+ million next year $20 million new taxes added last November $208 million new BUSD bond coming this November More taxes and fees issuing from Federal, State, City governments City and BUSD should rethink their priorities: Maintenance has grown to 380% of original estimates + don't spend money like water! UC and BHS already have competition pools, residents don't need another All other school districts open their pools to the community outside school needs BHS pool should be made available to the community, including Barracudas Recreation Taxes hiked by 38% just for expensive new pools while Parks and Recreation budget facing 25% cuts in next two years. City still hasn't responsibly prioritized and funded essential services Vote for better, greener, sustainable alternatives to keep Berkeley swimming --VOTE NO! Robert Cabrera individually and on behalf of, President Berkeley Can Do Better (BCDB) Marie Bowman individually and on behalf of, Steering Committee Chair, Berkeleyans Against Soaring Taxes (BASTA!); Former Chair, Housing Advisory Commission (HAC) Julie Dickinson individually and on behalf of, Secretary, Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) Greg Harper individually and on behalf of, Treasurer, Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA); Former Chair, Housing Advisory Commission (HAC) Phyllis Carr Secretary Rebuttal to Arguments Against REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE C Berkeley's "Party of NO" is at it again, spreading distortions and falsehoods. They failed in recent elections to stop improvements to our schools, libraries, and fire stations. Now Berkeley's own naysayers want to shut down our beloved community pools. Like the "Party of No" in Washington, they're making wild and false claims. Corrections are in order: Berkeley has 4 municipal pools, not 9. Measure C will LOWER--not raise--maintenance costs through modernization and energy efficiency. Berkeley's debt is NOT skyrocketing. The City Council is making deep and painful cuts to meet budget. No adequate alternatives to the Warm Water Pool exist in Berkeley. How can we hike a "recreation" tax when we don't even have one? Our youth swim teams train in overcrowded conditions. The pools and pool houses are overdue for rehabilitation. Our aged Warm Water Pool is scheduled for demolition. Measure C will: Replace the indoor Warm Pool for seniors, the disabled, and parents with infants. Repair Willard, King, and West Campus pools. Fund adequate hours and programs to enable all Berkeley children to learn to swim safely, and to provide for our after-school teams. Measure C puts a simple question before voters: Shall we, like citizens before us, care for and maintain our community assets? The ENTIRE Board of the Berkeley Unified School District, and the ENTIRE Berkeley City Council, support Measure C. VOTE YES to preserve our legacy, for Berkeley's health, for our kids, for our future. Cathryn A. Campbell individually and on behalf of, President, Berkeley Federation of Teachers Rod Howard Partner: Synectic Technologies Winston Burton Economic Development Director, Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) Teresa Price Parent of five Berkeley Barracuda Swim Team members Linda Maio Vice Mayor, Berkeley City Council