Recreational Opportunities Should Be Re-Emphasized

To the Editor:
The swimming pool at the Cape May City Elementary School is a sign of a greater issue in the city of Cape May – a mindset that places too much emphasis on tourism instead of the quality-of-life of the year-round residents. My broader contention is that the voice of the families and children on the island needs to be restored.
Let’s start with the swimming pool. Repaired as is, it will remain dated and undersized. I am told the Cape May Waves can’t hold a regulation meet in their own pool. Let’s just admit that it is one of many recreational facilities in Cape May that are in disrepair. These include the tennis courts, the Della’s baseball field and the city’s single asphalt basketball court – all along Lafayette Street, locked up behind a chain-link fence and bordering a demolition site, the soil from which may or may not be contaminated.
Other island communities from Wildwood Crest northward to Atlantic City demonstrate a clear financial commitment to their children through their modern, safe, recreational facilities including sports fields, swimming pools, skate parks, surfing beaches, basketball courts, tennis courts and hockey rinks. Take a drive and see these towns yourself. Cape May needs to begin a real process of redirecting strategy and dollars towards its own dilapidated recreational infrastructure.
I’m disappointed nothing has been done in the months its been closed. However, it is obvious that this is the pattern in Cape May when it comes to recreational facilities. The message the city sends through its shuttered pool and locked fences is that we open for business except when it comes to families and kids.
I think now is an outstanding opportunity for everyone in the community to step-up, work as a team, and construct a modern swimming center. I challenge the city employees, its professional contractors (lawyers, grant writers), the city’s dedicated volunteers (including Council, Boards), the island’s business community, the Elementary School Administration, its Board of Education, and finally the island’s families, to think bigger about a modern swimming facility. Considering their ongoing financial commitment and the military family makeup of the school, dialogue must include U.S. Coast Guard leadership.
Fixing pipes is a short-term solution. I may be an optimist but there is a greater potential here. City leadership spearheaded a new Convention Center. Imagine conceptualizing, funding and building a truly modern recreational facility that by its very presence communicates to the residents (and visitors as well) that we value and cherish kids?
It’s commonly repeated that there are no more families left on the island. Not only is this utterly false, but even more families would decide to live here if our recreational facilities were not an embarrassment. The overall mindset and budgetary process in the city needs to refocus on the year-round experience versus the tourist experience. Excellence in our school and recreational opportunities should be re-emphasized. Getting to work immediately on a new swim center would be a logical first step.