The Tukwila Pool is facing closure, as money to support it has run out from the City of Tukwila.
Malcolm Neely, aquatic program coordinator at Tukwila Pool, says they would "definitely like to keep it open."

"For full-time people, this is a career for us," he says. "We like doing what we do."

Neely describes the environment of the pool as being like a "big family."

In the morning, Neely says, there are at least 12 to 15 people waiting at the door to do laps or water walking.

The idea they are looking most toward to save the pool from closure is to establish a metropolitan parks department, which is what saved the Mt. Rainier Pool from closure a year ago.

Tukwila Pool is funded by the City of Tukwila until Sept. 2011. According to Neely, a vote will take place in February, but if something does not pass the pool will close that September.

"We are trying to stay optimistic," Neely says.

Many Tukwila residents are in support of saving the pool.

Efforts to save the pool, however, have already taken form.

Within the building, posters are up on the walls of the entryway with signatures and notes from patrons of the pool, expressing their concerns and pleading for the pool to be saved.

As part of a grass roots effort, one Tukwila resident and pool patron, Jessica Jerwa, has set up a Facebook page to, "ask for fellow Tukwila Pool Supporters to join with her to show their support."

As of now, there are 71 members.

You may join the group at: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Save-the-Tukwila-Pool/1371060…. Or you may find it by searching Facebook for "Save the Tukwila Pool."
Jerwa says the pool has been a critical part in her life. At age 26 she was diagnosed with several hip problems.

"I was told that if I did not have a major surgery to correct it, I would ultimately end up in a wheelchair," she says.

Having been an active person, Jerwa was unable to walk more than 300 feet at a time. She and her husband had to buy a one-story home, which she says took a while to find. She also had to stop coaching baseball.

"I was devastated and depressed and ended up turning to food for comfort," she says. "Going from being super active to being completely restricted to a wheelchair for trips out of the house, I ended up gaining 100 pounds in just three years."

They ended up finding a one-story home in Tukwila near the pool.

To add insult to injury, almost immediately after moving into their new home, Jerwa was in a head-on car accident which left her hospitalized for two weeks, breaking multiple bones in her body and tearing a ligament in her wrist.

"My surgeons and physical therapists all recommended swimming in order to rehab the bone and tissue damage," Jerwa says.

So she began to go to the pool. It was easily accessible for her and helped her body recover.

"I can honestly say that if the Tukwila Pool had not been so accessible to me I wouldn't have been able to stand and address the City Council with my cane in my car, my wheelchair in my garage at home, and 30 pounds lighter," she says.