Pool pact example of good government
I can understand when someone reads the term "intergovernmental agreement" that the eyes can glaze over. The intergovernmental agreement recently made between the city of Yuma and the Yuma Union High School District for a swimming pool complex, however, gives an opportunity to think about what these agreements can mean.
The costs associated with the complex are shared. Forty-nine percent of the cost will be paid by the school district from a voter-approved bond, the rest by the City. The school district and the city will share the cost of construction. The city is providing 5.6 acres for the facility and the school district is giving 1.7 acres. The complex will be like a small water park, consisting of a 13-lane competition pool, a leisure pool and a splash pad on seven acres at 4381 W. 18th Street.
The total cost for the facility is $8.8 million.
This decision was years in the making. I remember when I served on the city's executive team about 10 years ago when this subject came up. The cost was a big issue. Dealing with the water table was a consideration. Then, it was nowhere near coming to fruition. It took time, thought and planning by the elected bodies and staffs of both the city and the Yuma high school system to come up with the right mix.
This agreement provides the public access to the swimming pool complex during the summer, while Cibola High students would have priority during the regular school year.
When you look at what took place - the kind of logical interplay at work between the city and the school district - you can get the picture of what an intergovernmental agreement is supposed to achieve.
Historically, such agreements are more common in the American experience than any other because of our belief in federalism. That is, that we respect the jurisdictions of other political bodies and seek to make voluntary compacts to better the mutual interests of the populations we serve. You'll see them between the federal and state governments, among states, and within states among cities, counties and school systems. They also happen among countries in countless ways.
What they all have in common, no matter what the scope or cost, is the symbolism that projects such as the swimming pool facility carry at their core. The symbolism of different jurisdictions seeing the logic of working together for the common good, moving their political wills in a forward direction and sending their smart staff people to figure out the details.
It's a choice to leverage the resources at your disposal - land, equipment, finances - in the most efficient manner. This is not a small thing, and is at the beginning of any great thing. For one can choose to be petty and obstinate. Small personalities on a board can hold things up for silly reasons. One political body can decide not to work with the other because of slights real or imagined from the past.
The truth is these agreements happen all the time. Which means healthy acts to plan and coordinate for the present and future are at work every day. The process normally moves in slow motion, and far more boring than a squabble. There are laws and toes you don't want to step on.
This pool is a good example of how the process should work, and it is a lot more fun than the normal stuff coming out of these meetings. Thankfully, this was not one of those things that began with fanfare then died without a whimper. It began quietly, the planning taking place behind the scenes, until the issues were worked out and ready to go.
When that pool complex is completed, either in 2009 or 2010, it'll be a legacy of cooperation that the public and students can enjoy. It'll also be an example of these elected bodies doing the right thing in the right way, and they should get the credit for working together intelligently.
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Mike Shelton is a Yuma resident and guest columnist for The Sun. E-mail him at mikshelt@msn.com
