ROSEMEAD - With the city of Rosemead building two new aquatic centers at both Rosemead and Garvey parks, former Mayor and current Garvey School District Board Member Bob Bruesch just wants to make sure those south of Interstate 10 will have the same opportunities and access as those north of the freeway.

Basically, he said he feels "southern Rosemead has been getting the shaft for years" and he wants to make sure it doesn't happen this time around and hopes the city gives "a more equal distribution of services."

"Why I'm concerned is the master plan," Bruesch said. "They don't have a walking track at Garvey Park. Rosemead Park has a walking track and it's heavily used. There are a lot of seniors who can't make it up (to Rosemead Park). They much rather be down here. So, why don't they build one like they promised?"

Bruesch said he was also concerned with the equity in building the two pools and access to the pools. He said many kids in the southern end go to San Gabriel High School - not Rosemead High School - where there is also no pool and they won't have an opportunity to get up to Rosemead Park to use what he considers is the better plan.

"If they're going to do things for half of the kids in the city, they should do it for all," Bruesch said.

He added at Garvey Park, "they're taking out the pool and putting in a small practice pool with a few sprayers and squirters and slides. The older the kids are, they want to swim. They don't want to play. If you're aiming at keeping young teenagers off the streets, especially in the summer, they need a pool."

However, Rosemead City Manager Jeff Allred disagreed with Bruesch, saying teenagers will like playing at the Garvey Park pool.

"The two aquatic centers will be open to the entire community and the proposed facility at Garvey Park will be very exciting for the young people and families of Rosemead," Allred said. "It could very well be the more popular of the sites, given the attraction of the large slides, splash places and the pool. The teenagers will love both facilities. They're likely to be excited about the slides."

He added that the input of teenagers was taken into consideration throughout the planning stages.

"Both facilities were designed through participation by the city's youth commission, which is comprised of teenagers," Allred said.

(Shel Segal can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)