Denise Crosby writes: 'Protesters insist that closing the East Side (Aurora) water park while keeping open Splash Country, on the far West Side, is sending a message about social inequity.'
Their numbers amounted to only a half dozen. But those who showed up in protest at Monday’s Fox Valley Park District Board of Commissioners meeting arrived with plenty of passion.
“When it gets hot this summer and there is no pool, things are going to get ugly,” insisted Cynthia Martinez, who teaches 8th grade at Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy, and is well aware of how the mental health of young people has been affected because of the pandemic.“I am here for my students,” she said, indicating, as did a handful of other residents I spoke with that “we are not letting this go without a fight.
Martinez noted that three of her students, upon hearing about the shortage, tried to apply but were told it was too late for the lifeguard training the park district provides. Protesters also noted the community is made up of plenty of older residents who do not speak English nor are they computer savvy; but, nevertheless, are taking care of grandkids over the summer.
Commissioner Joe Grisson, likewise, understands “both sides.” While there certainly was no malicious intent to shortchange the East Side, what the park district thought was adequate outreach was obviously not enough, he said, because “the fact these people showed up speaks volumes.”FVPD Executive Director Jim Pilmer calls this hot button “very emotional for myself,” not just professionally but also personally,” as his own children were raised at the Phillips Park aquatic facility.
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