WOODLAND HILLS : Fund-Raiser Is Launched for College’s Pool

Swimmers who want to use the Pierce College pool year-round have started fund raising for repairs crucial to keeping the facility afloat, an effort college officials hope will set a trend for relations between community groups and the financially struggling school.

Friends of Pierce Pool, formed by about a dozen West Valley swimmers in May, swelled to about 80 members during the summer, said Harald Johnson, president of the organization.

Each donated between $5 and $100 toward the cause, and the group is looking for grants for new heating and sanitation systems for the pool, which could cost as much as $80,000, Johnson said. The pool probably will close during the winter, unless funds can be found for the repairs, he said.

“The fact is, the college has no money,” Johnson said. “We can’t just sit here and write checks to them, but we can help them find sources for funds and make sure things are happening.”

The group also has planned a “swim-a-thon” fund-raiser for Aug. 29, with an expected appearance by 1992 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Mel Stewart, who holds the world record for the 200-meter butterfly.

The efforts of Friends of Pierce Pool are unique at the college, which already has a projected deficit of $1.3 million this fiscal year and has dropped 130 classes from the fall roster, said Esther Kenyon, executive director of the Foundation for Pierce College.

“The future of the pool would probably be in jeopardy if it weren’t for Friends of Pierce Pool,” Kenyon said. “This is something that we have been trying to establish all along. We’d also love to see a ‘friends of the arboretum,’ or a ‘friends of the library.’ ”

The swimmers’ efforts should be set against the backdrop of an unsuccessful effort by Woodland Hills residents to block the dumping of thousands of tons of dirt onto the Pierce College farm, in exchange for desperately needed cash from a developer, said Pierce College President Lowell Erickson.

“The pool people show they care about the Pierce College pool by doing something about it,” Erickson said. “It seems to me, there was a lot of time and energy spent by so-called supporters of the farm, which really should have been devoted to fund raising and helping the farm.”