WNMU pool and fitness preview brings many interested community members

: Category: Front Page News Front Page News; Published: 22 August 2015 22 August 2015

Article and Photos by Mary Alice Murphy

Lawrence Garcia, Western New Mexico University student body president, opened the celebration by saying: "A couple of presidents ago, we put in a fee toward recreation. We never know where our student fees go, but with this building, we know. It's tangible."

He encouraged community members to purchase memberships to use the saltwater pool and the state-of-the-art fitness equipment.

"We are very excited about what's happening on campus," Vice President of Student Affairs Isaac Brundage said. "This facility is an opportunity for what students can do on campus and for you community members, too."

WNMU President Joseph Shepard said the old pool, which was located in the same area, was closed in 2011 because it was leaking 9,000 gallons a day.

He said, at the first legislative session he attended after becoming president, he tried to get money for the pool to no avail. "Then there was the, ahem, gross receipts bond issue, which had money for a movie theater and a swimming pool for the community. It failed to pass, but we now have a movie theater and a swimming pool. We have one thing to get back and that's baseball, but we'll get there."

"The real champions for this facility were the students," Shepard said. "They approved a $10 per credit hour increase to their fees. If you're taking 15 hours, that's $150 extra, but at that time our student body president had vision. She is Gabby Begay, then student body president, now the student member of the Board of Regents."

"Dr. Shepard came to the students with the proposal, and I agreed," Begay said. "I was scared, because $10 a credit hour is a lot. But I have roots in Western. I took swimming lessons here. My grandmother worked here, and both my parents got their education here."

Shepard returned to the podium and said what people would see at this preview "is not the complete version. We are refurbishing the locker rooms. You will have your own stall for showers. Most of the weight machines have been installed, but behind the two rowing machines, a climbing wall is still to come."

He said the pool is five feet deep and less than 2,700 square feet of surface area. "Why? Because if it's deeper than five feet or larger than 2,700 feet, the state requires lifeguards. The cost would become unsustainable." He said the salt water would be better for skin and hair and would require many fewer chemicals.

"The facility will open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. five days a week," Shepard said. "We have video cameras throughout, and we have a shallow end for aqua aerobics. We also have two 25-meter lanes for laps.

"The students paid for the pool, so it's only fair that community members pay to use it," he continued. "For each community member, it will cost $50 a month, all inclusive. It is a student facility that we are sharing with the community."

In the planning stage is a rock wall with wrought iron completely around the area, "to create a concert venue," and families with children can let them roll down the hill and know they cannot wander off.

Later Shepard told the Beat that although the facility will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, the weekend hours would be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also during official university closures, such as over Thanksgiving and the Christmas/New Year's Day holidays, the facility will be closed.

For more information, call 575-538-6139 or email Jessica.Morales@WNMU.edu.

To purchase memberships, visit the Office of Business Affairs in Castorena Hall.

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WNMU pool and fitness preview brings many interested community members

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