By Jenna Holton
July 5, 2018
Photo courtesy of Shannon Wright.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. – Cobb County may close Mountain View Aquatic Center to counteract budget shortfalls. Swimmers and community members face uncertain, upsetting changes in light of the situation.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a $30 million budget deficit has caused county departments to consider decommissioning numerous local amenities. With the proposed list of twelve closures, the county will save $3.3 million, as reported by Fox 5 Atlanta.
“Over half of the County high school swim programs use Mountain View Aquatic Center. If the facility were to be taken away, many teams would struggle to survive without an adequate facility to use,” said Zack Schreer, the head coach for Pope High School Swim and Dive, in an email to Cobb County swim coaches and coordinators.
“From offering swimming lessons to being a home to three major USA Swimming clubs, MVAC serves as an essential part of the swimming network and [the] Cobb Community,” said Zack Schreer. Without this amenity, these programs can no longer continue.
The threat of one’s sport being inaccessible is a fear felt by any athlete, as Morgan Thomas, a senior volleyball player from Redding, Pennsylvania, said, “due to budget issues in my low-income city, my school” stopped allowing the club volleyball team to utilize the facility. Consequently, her area severely “needed a community center to continue altering lives.”
Morgan’s situation reflects a reality Cobb County athletes could face shortly. While her volleyball team could practice, she became “more confident athletically and academically” because her coach emphasized the necessity of completing homework between practices so the student-athletes could become well-rounded, conscientious individuals.
“On my swim team, I learned time management skills because I had practice from five to seven in the morning and at night every day,” said high school sophomore, Zoe. Her experiences helped her to develop “close friendships and social skills” she applies daily.
Without these facilities available, Michael, a father and “a firm believer in team sports,” said, children lose the opportunity to “meet new people and develop lifelong friendships.”
Zack Schreer said each endangered facility “create[s] and endear[s] a greater sense of community.” Mountain View “offers a place and classes designed to meet the needs of our senior citizens, provides a home to those on adaptive aquatics teams and a suitable location for aquatic therapy for those with special needs.”
With Mountain View’s plethora of recreational and athletic activities available, many residents of the Cobb community would suffer extensive losses following its closure.
Coaches have encouraged swimmers and their families to appear at local town hall meetings and public hearings while wearing their team spirit wear to express their concern regarding the possible closing.
As provided in Cobb’s Budget Journey, future town hall meetings and public hearings will take place on the following dates:
- Monday, July 9, East Cobb Senior Center, 7:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 10, Board of Commissioners Meeting Room on 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta, 9:00 a.m.
- Tuesday, July 17, Board of Commissioners Meeting Room on 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta, 6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, July 25, Board of Commissioners Meeting Room on 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta, 7:00 p.m.
Regardless of the outcome, efforts to curtail the fiscal deficits will result in significant changes for Cobb County.
“The county needs Mountain View Aquatic. We just can’t swim without it,” said Zack Schreer.