From the SBNA President:
UPDATE: We put the word out on Facebook and Nextdoor that our August meeting would be focused on the future of the Scenic Brook Park, and that we were looking for expanded participation. About a dozen folks attended this past Thursday night (August 11), including four folks who have never attended a board meeting before. We met at Hecho en Mexico on William Cannon, which was a nice change of pace but for the unexpected live music that started up towards the end of the meeting (I love it that random live music shows up in the suburbs in a strip mall restaurant on a Thursday night – proves Austin’s soul is alive and well!)
Over chips-n-queso and fish tacos, the group engaged in a lively discussion about the future of Scenic Brook Park, and ultimately the board authorized a survey to be conducted as soon as possible to assess neighborhood support for rebuilding a pool. The survey will be distributed soon, and I urge Scenic Brookers old and new to complete the survey – its results will determine the path the board pursues for the park.
PARK LOCATION: The park is located here.
WHAT’S AT THE PARK TODAY?: Here’s a overhead view with features labeled; to the north of the pool is the dry creekbed for Scenic Brook Creek.
- pink text: fully operational;
- lime text: in use currently but repairs needed;
- yellow text: not in use
POOL HISTORY:
Pool history
Back in the mid Seventies, when Scenic Brook West was being built and new young families were moving in to brand new houses, a group of dedicated community members founded Scenic Brook Park and built a pool. It wasn’t easy. Lots of hard work (manual labor and fund raising) went into the pool, and they pulled off a minor miracle. The pool thrived for about 30 years, until it closed around 2008. As the neighborhood families grew up and children moved away, membership dropped; meanwhile the pool itself was getting on in years, and was getting more expensive to maintain. The costs were too much, and the decision was made to close the pool.
Fast forward to 2016, and the neighborhood has continued to change. Young families with children have moved into this beautiful neighborhood, and many of them would love the opportunity to join a local pool. Whether or not they get the opportunity is dependent upon their own will and the will of their neighbors. The same hard work and dedication that went into the original pool is absolutely needed to pull off what would be another small miracle.
Tony Catania
President SBNA
There’s lots of plans big and small underway. Some will take some time, planning, and luck to happen. Others are ripe for the taking, with just a little gumption, sweat, and participation. We’re making progress: the Park & Garden and this newly launched scenicbrook.org website are two proof points, and both are templates that provide a lot of opportunity to do more. If you’re reading this and not involved yet, please join us and bring your ideas and energy. Look for events you can participate in, join the mailing list, join the neighborhood association, sign up for a garden plot, come to a board meeting, get on NextDoor, or just drop us a line.
Thank you for an excellent report. I urge everyone to get involved as the board works on this important issue.
The history on why the pool closed is not complete. If the other reasons for closing are not addressed trying to rebuild the pool will be a failure.
We have lived in Scenic Brook West for 32 years when we bought our house new in 1983. Our family grew with two children. Both children took their swim lessons at the Scenic Brook Pool. Our oldest was 9 months when he learned. Our second child is a girl and she was almost 2 yrs. when she learned at this pool. Millie was so kind did such a great job keeping the grounds kept, and the pool safe for the children. There was a time when we used the pool with Millie’s permission to be our babysitter when my husband had to take a 2nd shift position. That Summer he would drop the children off around 2pm, and I would pick them up at about 5:30pm. Often I would get pizza, or some other dish, and we would picnic at the park. These were good times. I think we also put in some donations to the Life Guard. This was in the 1990’s. It breaks my heart to see this pool and the grounds be in such condition. If you have young children, just imagine how wonderful it would be to take them to this park and meet and get to know your neighbors. To build those bonds and memories that will last a lifetime, is priceless. We do not have the means to support now. Just know that if we could we would.