After months of debate, students decided last week to save the natatorium.
Fifty-five percent of the students voted against the referendum that would have changed the natatorium into an event center.
Closer still was the Bayou Park referendum that would have developed the area into an indoor/outdoor recreational facility. The measure failed by just 15 votes of the 2,000 cast.
Chris Pealer, director of the YMCA, said he felt “happiness and relief” over the election results. He credited the results to a dedicated team of students and community members who campaigned on the natatorium’s behalf.
Thursday’s results showed an unlikely comeback from the straw poll election in December where students voiced support for both an outdoor pool and an event center. Since that time, the YMCA has done considerable work to make the building more inviting and functional.
Senior kinesiology major Wynston Lyman, a vocal supporter of the natatorium, admitted he was worried heading into the election because of the straw poll. He said publicity made the difference this time around.
“The pool finally got some attention,” Lyman said. “Students finally found out what we had.”
The failure of the Bayou Park referendum seemed to spark the most surprise from people associated with the Student Government, which proposed the plans. None of the high-ranking officials or officers endorsed the plan publicly, but the reactions to the referendum’s failure were those of disappointment.
“Fifteen votes is hard to take,” said Nathan Hall, adviser to SGA. “We tried to get a view of what the students wanted, and that’s what they wanted.”
SGA Vice President Hunter Vanderberg echoed Hall’s surprise at the closeness of the election and said he wished voter turnout had been higher.
Nearly 800 more students voted in the spring election than in December’s straw poll.
“It was a good opportunity for ULM students to improve campus, and they chose not to go in that direction. It’s not the end of the world,” said Vanderberg.
SGA President Brooke Dugas declined to comment on the election results. A Facebook post on her wall following the results said it was “understandable that many [students] are disappointed by the outcome” of the referendums. She urged students to “move forward as proud Warhawks.”
That may be easier said than done. Students and community members who use the pool were outraged when the University closed it down last summer, and the hard feelings linger.
Lyman, who is a triathlon team member, at one point said he was “ashamed” to wear the Warhawk logo, and that sentiment has yet to change.
“It’s pathetic it ever got this far,” he said. “Why this university would not want to keep the only natatorium in Northeast Louisiana makes no sense.”
The YMCA’s contract with ULM ends on June 30. The YMCA is expected to completely take over operations and expenses and lease the building from the University. The University estimates an annual cost of $250,000 to operate the building. That doesn’t include some of the more major renovations the pool will eventually require.
Vanderberg said, “They’re on stage now to make the nat what they claim it can be.”
Pealer said in addition to raising money, the next step will be finding more support in the community and building relationships with the medical community for rehab opportunities in the pool.
“Hopefully, we’ll all buy into the same vision. We want the same things and that’s to make this university unique in this area,” Pealer said.