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Residents, seniors and service providers urge Assembly to keep Mary Tsai Recreation Center open
Summary
Dozens of residents, seniors and nonprofit leaders told the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly during a budget public hearing that closing Mary Tsai Recreation Center would remove a rare warm-water, accessible space used for therapy, lessons and social programs and could cost more than keeping it open.
Dozens of residents, nonprofit volunteers and health providers urged the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly on Thursday to keep Mary Tsai Recreation Center open, saying the small pool provides warm-water therapy, accessible changing rooms and community services not available at other borough pools.
Speakers at the public hearing said the center’s pool temperature, hot tub and private changing areas make it uniquely suited for seniors, people with mobility impairments, therapeutic swim programs and special-needs instruction. “Swimming is the only thing that can keep any muscle I have,” caller Mary Shields said of her regular visits. Several residents described long personal histories with the facility and said staff know patrons’ health needs.
Assembly members had scheduled a public hearing on the borough’s proposed 2025–26 budget (Ordinance 2025-20). Testimony on Mary Tsai…
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