Out of the Swim : Rising Fees, Fear of Crime Blamed for Lack of Pool Use in Many Areas of East Valley

On hot days nothing beats it.

But when the temperature rises to boiling in the San Fernando Valley--the unofficial swimming pool capital of the nation--who swims where is sometimes determined by hard, cold facts: money, fear, public perception.

According to property records, residents of single-family homes in the East Valley are far less likely to own a back-yard pool than those in the West Valley. Although public pools are equally spread throughout the Valley, residents in some neighborhoods do not--or cannot--take full advantage of these facilities.

Parents sometimes keep their children away from public pools for fear of gang violence and other crime. In other instances, children stay dry during the summer because their families simply cannot afford swim fees: $1 a day for youths at county pools and 75 cents for city pools.

“It’s a deterrent wherever you go,” said Leroy Pace, aquatics director for county pools in the north county area. “We see that on a daily basis. . . . I feel more sorry for people with large families with small kids. That’s a sad situation, but we don’t have any recourse for it. We go by what we’re instructed to do.”

Still, officials say public facilities are a safe and economical opportunity for those who live in homes or apartments without pools. And for children from low-income families, there are some swim scholarships available. For others, to swim or not to swim may boil down to a lesson on priorities.

“In a real practical sense they have to make a value judgment, whether they go to 7-Eleven and play a video game or come swimming,” said John Vowels, aquatic director for city-operated pools in the Valley.

One thing is certain: Valley residents of all ages have a special love of swimming pools.

California has 766,000 pools, and according to the Swimming Pool Trade and Contractors Assn., at least 120,000 are in the Valley.

“Looking at the maps we have, there’s just an enormous number of pools here in the Valley,” said Bob Olsen, chief financial officer for Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supplies.

A search of property records shows that some communities do more than their share to boost the Valley’s status as a leader in back-yard swimming pools, and the number clearly shrinks along with median family income. The median income in Arleta/Pacoima was $35,475, according to the 1990 U.S. Census, while the median income in the Canoga Park-Winnetka-Woodland Hills area was $55,328.

Based on a database that tracks pools according to ZIP codes, Reseda has roughly 2,358 single-family residences with back-yard pools. In Winnetka, there are about 2,263 such residences. In Pacoima and Arleta combined, there are 1,303. In ZIP codes that make up the city of San Fernando, there are a total of 337 back-yard pools.

Pool suppliers say their business demands bear out those figures.

Of the eight Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supplies stores in the Valley, seven are located in the West Valley, said Allen Fogle, manager of the Chatsworth store.

“We have more stores in the San Fernando Valley west of the 405 than we have east of the 405,” Fogle said. “I would definitely imagine there’d be more pools on this end.”

Still, back-yard pools are only one way to stay cool. Many apartment complexes have pools. And throughout the Valley, there are ways for low-income youth to swim for free--but they have to know where to look.

“There’s always financial aid available at the Y,” said Karen O’Brien, wellness director at the Mid-Valley Family YMCA in Van Nuys. During certain times of the day, the pool there is open to kids for only 50 cents.

“There aren’t that many pools around here, and it’s hot and smoggy and kids need to cool off,” O’Brien said.

The biggest YMCA in the Valley, Mid-Valley offers creative pool activities for kids. There are luaus and “dive-in movies,” where kids sit in inner-tubes watching videos.

“It’s a very popular pool,” O’Brien said.

Since the quake, patrons of the North Valley Family YMCA in Mission Hills, whose pool was damaged, have had to travel a lot farther for a swim.

The new facility and pool are expected to open in the winter of 1996. In the meantime, swimmers are being directed to other facilities.

At county- and city-run pools, kids can also swim and take lessons.

Swimming had always been free at county pools. But since the cash-strapped county began charging fees last summer, officials have noted a 40% drop in recreational swimming in the north county, which encompasses the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys (and one pool in Altadena).

At El Cariso Pool in Sylmar, the number of recreational swims fell even further, from 30,083 in 1993 to 15,882 in 1994.

Discount books--which offer 20 swims for the price of 15--are also available.

In some areas, charitable and civic organizations have donated funds so that kids without money can swim.

Through a class offered by the Los Angeles-based Amateur Athletic Foundation, kids can get on a swim team and also swim for free. The foundation also offers scholarships for swimming lessons at city-owned pools, which have always charged users’ fees.

“When I was a child in 1952, it was 15 cents,” city aquatic director Vowels said. “That price held literally throughout my childhood.”

Over the years the fee increased about 25 cents every five to seven years.

“We’re providing an incredibly excellent service,” Vowels said. “Where [else] can you leave a child from 1 to 5 p.m. in a fun, clean environment, for such a reasonable amount of money?”

Even when parents have the money, some may be hesitant to go or send their children to a public pool. Hubert Humphrey Pool in Pacoima, for example, is the Valley’s least-used city-owned pool despite the fact that it is outdoors, well-maintained, heated and open year-round.

“It’s right in the middle of gang territory,” Vowels said. “It’s a very nice facility. The people who use it love it.

“A lot of people have a perceived fear that public parks are not safe,” he continued. “But when you look at the statistics, they don’t support that.”

That seemed as clear as the pool’s sparkling water one recent afternoon when a handful of enthusiastic mothers and children savored the space they had to themselves.

“I get to swim and do all these things,” said 11-year-old Lance Edinburg, wading effortlessly beneath the watchful eye of the lifeguards. “Like swimming in nine feet, and racing each other and jumping off the diving board.”

“We just like to have fun for the heck of it,” said Joshua Flowers, also 11, who lives within walking distance from the pool.

Maria Aguilar and her daughters, Katherine, 4, and Amber, 7, are regular pool-users.

“We live just across from here,” Aguilar said. “We’re very lucky to have the pool.”

On hot days the whole family swims, and for Aguilar the fee is not a problem.

“For the fun we have, it’s OK,” she said.

The pools also offer young people training and jobs as lifeguards. The city’s 16 Valley facilities employ about 350 teen-agers, Vowels said.

Oscar Mejia and Alex Cortez, both 15, are looking forward to being junior lifeguards.

“I already taught my two brothers to swim,” Alex said.

Although adults are definitely outnumbered, the pools are not just for children.

While the children splashed on one side of the Pacoima pool, Helene Feingold of Granada Hills did her daily laps in roped-off lanes. She has been a regular for nine years, and because it is heated, she and other adults often swim at night.

“A lot of people don’t want to come here because it’s in Pacoima,” she said, taking a break from her laps. “It’s been quite safe here. For people who love to swim, this is really a good deal.”