The community’s design plans — Roy Hawkins
Editor,
In August of 2023, our group, Tracy Concerned Citizens for an Aquatic Center, invited supporters to a gathering at the Tracy Transit Center to reveal the design plans for the Tracy Aquatic Center.
The design plans culminate nearly 20 years of hearings, workshops, campaigning, and meeting after meeting to bring an aquatic center to Tracy. Several of our groups’ members were part of the original city council-appointed citizen Aquatic Task Force in 2005.
In 2016, we formed Tracy Concerned Citizens for an Aquatic Center to campaign for Measure V, to provide funding for amenities such as the aquatic center.
Between 2005 and 2022, our group worked together with the city in developing the design plans for the aquatic center. During that time, every Tracy mayor from Brent Ives to Robert Rickman and every city council supported the community designed aquatic center getting built. Mayor Rickman even hosted a ribbon cutting event at the Ellis property.
The point is that Tracy residents have been active in the aquatic center process from Day 1. This is why we are calling them the Community’s Design Plans. No one in this community, elected or otherwise, can diminish our efforts. We are the heart and soul behind these design plans.
These are the community’s plans and they are the city’s plans. We have worked together through this process. We are excited about these plans and everyone who has seen the plans is excited. The design has something for everyone, from every walk of life, to enjoy.
The city has the community’s completed design plans ready to implement NOW! This is an exciting opportunity to build an aquatic center we can be proud of. We call on our city council to take action and move forward with the Community’s Design Plans immediately.
Roy Hawkins, Tracy