Councilmember Rebecka Monez and former city manager Reagan Wilson, both of whom grew up swimming in the Columbia Park pool on the city’s Westside, delivered the ceremonial “first plunge” on Saturday at the grand re-opening ceremony.
On a cool and blustery day, the clouds parted and the sun peeked through just long enough for Monez and Wilson to hop into the pool, which had been closed since 2019.
A crowd of about 150 gathered inside the fence that surrounds the pool, ADA compliant restrooms, concession stand, and covered picnic areas on a revamped deck. Also on hand for the official ribbon cutting — with a Hawaiian theme, a floral lei was actually snipped — were Mayor Amy Bublak, Councilmember Cassandra Abram (District 3), interim City Manager Sue Borrego, Municipal Services Director Christopher Fisher, and Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa (District 2).
Monez, a native of Turlock’s Westside, had been the most vocal proponent for a renovated pool, making it the cornerstone of her first political campaign in 2020.
“It feels like our neighborhood is back, and somebody needs to pinch me because I still can’t believe it’s actually happening,” said Monez, who grew up about a mile away on Montana Avenue and would walk to the pool barefoot during the summers of her youth. “This facility definitely provides a place for our families to gather. We’ll have birthday parties here, family reunions, get-togethers, things that families do on the weekends.”
The project’s price tag for the project ballooned to $9.1 million, a figure with which Monez says she’s OK.
“First, inflation hit,” said Monez. “Second, we had unforeseen circumstances that we didn’t know about. And No. 3, I’m not going to balk at the price just because it’s going in on the Westside, like most folks do.
“There were a lot of hurdles, and we had a lot of people telling us, ‘Oh, we have a problem with this or a problem with that, so let’s just make the pool smaller.’ I wasn’t willing to do that, because our kids deserve this. If it was going in on the north side of town nobody would ask to cut corners.”
Monez applauded former Councilmember Pam Franco, who was on hand for the festivities, for helping to secure money to complete the project.
Police Chief Jason Hedden is also glad to see the pool completed.
“I think it’s going to provide all kinds of positive activity and fun for kids in our community. And when you walk through these gates here, it’s overwhelming to see how this project came together for these kids,” said Hedden. “When any kid has a positive activity to keep them busy, it naturally helps to keep them out of trouble.”
The city has not yet set the hours and fees for summer lessons and other activities, but JoLynn DiGrazia of Westside Ministries hopes to incorporate the pool into the programs offered by the church, located about two blocks away.
“Columbia Pool is an oasis for kids that have nowhere to go in the summer,” said DiGrazia, who lives across the street from the pool. “Traditionally, we bring kids twice a week and pay for them to swim in the summer. We’re going to reinstitute that starting the second week in June. We’ll start bringing children here every day during the open swim. We’re also hoping, if we’re able, and if it’s offered, to incorporate swim lessons as our schedule allows.”
Turlock native Brent Bohlender, a former swimming and water polo coach who is the winningest coach in California sports history with more than 1,200 combined victories, provided some historical perspective.
“They used to have the Turlock swim club and this is where it started in 1958,” said Bohlender, a former lifeguard at the pool. “This is where the pool was, and this is where we did our competitions. We had the mayor come out and give medals at the bigger events, so this was quite the place. This is where all the kids hung out until Turlock High opened up a pool.
“But this is where a lot of people got their start in swimming.”
