City pools provide cool relief

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Of the 600 or so visitors at Richmond Park's pool on Monday afternoon, perhaps none was as happy as Bob Sullivan.

The local businessman's gift of more than $100,000 opened the pool when the city, with its budget problems, could not.

"When I found out that they weren't going to open the pools -- I used to swim in this pool, I learned to swim in this pool -- and it hurt me," he told 24 Hour News 8. "I thought, 'Gee, I can afford it, I know I can keep on working on account of things like this, but I thought I'd make sure they opened the pool."

It was Sullivan's gift that started a ripple effect, leading to a fund drive that raised $178,000 to open the King and Briggs pools.

The three pools opened Monday for the first time this summer.

"Literally he's paying for essentially everything from the water in the pool, the lifeguards on the deck, the chemicals,
anything it takes to open this pool right now," Grand Rapids Aquatics Supervisor Joey Sutherlin said of Richmond Park's pool. "Mr. Sullivan is essentially paying for it here."

In fact, his donation meant summer jobs for 26 lifeguards at Richmond alone.

Monday, they prepared for the swimmers, who started forming a line about a half-hour before the 12:30 p.m. opening. Lifeguards spread on the sunscreen, tested their whistles.

Some swimmers questioned why it had to come to this.

"They're not managing their money the way they should be," park user Vandy DeYoung said as she arrived at the pool. "We pay our taxes; this should be a tax deal, and I think that we should all be able to enjoy it, and not just one person step up to take care of it."

Sullivan, himself, has questions.

"I don't want to criticze our city fathers -- they have some problems right now -- but I'd suggest if they had to to sell some of their assets, some of their vacant land or whatever, because I think it's a shame that they don't use these assets."

This year's first swimmer at Richmond Pool is grateful to Sullivan.

"Thank you so much, you're the best, you're awesome," said Jessica Buchanan, 14.

A summer without this pool, she said, would be "really hot, like nothing to do. We'd all be like inside, and watching TV and bored."

The pools are open from 12:30 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and are free to anyone 17 and under. Adults pay $4.