Two members of the Ceres City Council balked last week at city plans to team up with the Salvation Army Red Shield Center in south Modesto for swim lessons in light after the city cancelled its own aquatics program for budget reasons.

Councilmembers James Casey and Cerina Otero opposed an agreement for Red Shield to offer swim lessons, recreational swim, and aquatic Zumba. Casey didn’t like that no transportation would be provided by the city to the Las Vegas Street facility since Ceres kids always had the ability to walk to bicycle to the Ceres program at Ceres High School.

Otero said she is familiar with the Red Shield Center and said they have a great pool but stated her concern is “about what this means for Ceres residents and the future of our own recreational aquatics program.

“Our responsibility here in the city is to make sure that families have access to all the resource they need right here in the city,” said Otero. “So far that I’ve noticed, we’ve contracted out Hoosiers, we don’t have tiny tots baseball right now, and now the aquatics program is something that is not necessarily offered here within the city … so aside from the community events that we have, I feel Ceres is currently offering limited recreation programs for our youth.”

She also added concerns about accessibility and the increase in recreational swim cost.

Otero said she was blindsided when the city announced in February that the aquatics program was being cancelled but she offered ideas to help save it. She noted that she had plans for March 31 to meet with city staff over the issue when she was surprise that Mayor Javier Lopez announced in his March 26 “State of the City” address that the program was “saved, I actually was surprised because the council had not been made aware of any finalized solution, and there wasn’t an agreement in place yet.”

“I feel like we’ve created some confusion and some false hope for the community in the meantime,” said Otero. “So going forward, I just want to make sure that we do have a better plan for next year.”

Finally, she said the council never received a “clear explanation for why the program was canceled beyond the budget constraints.”

The contract, which was approved by the mayor, Vice Mayor Daniel Martinez and Councilwoman Rosalinda Vierra, ends in August.

Recreation Supervisor Jessica Pulliam said when the city first contacted the Salvation Army there was talk about holding lessons at the Ceres High School pool until the Salvation Army’s pool was fully renovated. “Their pool got finished way before schedule and because of that, it got moved to Las Vegas (Street), Pulliam explained.

“That’s great for them,” said Martinez, “unfortunately, it doesn’t solve our problem. Our youth aren’t going to have easy access getting there. When we had first discussed it and the talks were that it was going to be at Ceres High School, as accessible for people, especially the kids that live around the baseball field in the parks. I don’t know if I could support them having to go all the way out there or having to have families set aside ways to get them there.”

Pulliam also noted that the city’s insurance carrier would not cover a third party program at CHS.

However, Martinez did support the contract.

City Manager Steve Williams said the city has no ability to fund its own aquatics program.

“To my council,” said Mayor Lopez, “this is only temporary, and we know that this is not a long-term solution. Our members of the public were very surprised, as was I, to find out that prematurely it was announced that the aquatics program was canceled. I think that’s unfortunate. And when I made my comments at the State of the City address, I said that there was a potential opportunity for aquatic program to be saved. And I think this is an opportunity for one time for us to provide aquatics to the citizens of Ceres. This is only of one cycle, and if the city council wants to continue to have aquatics programs at Ceres High, we need to look toward the budget and see if we can actually fund it.”

He said the Salvation Army option is a “great opportunity for the citizens of Ceres” and discounted the distance, saying it is “right across the street from the city of Ceres.”

Registration will still take place at the Ceres Community Center and prices are the same except for recreational swimming cost rising to $4 per person. Pulliam said four sessions will be offered in July and August.

“It’s almost a revolving door of families coming in wanting to register,” said Pulliam, “and so I know this is something that’s very important to the community and to the children and to the parents.”

Councilwoman Rosalinda Vierra said if the council didn’t okay the contract that no lessons would be offered this year.

The city will receive 30 percent of the fees paid by participants.

Casey asked if the city considered raising fees to support keeping the program. Pulliam said since the project fell in her lap no such discussions took place.

Recreation Manager Joey Chavez was placed on administrative leave in March pending an investigation to an incident in which he and two leaders of Ceres Youth Baseball nearly came to blows in a heated exchange. Despite widespread community support for Chavez, there has been no announcement as to Chavez’s future with the city.