Tom Kurtz, representing the Lake Oswego Water Polo Organization, and Corinne Beaumont, LOPO’s administrator, urged the council during public comment to address limited access to the Lorac competition pool that has forced youth teams to travel to outdoor or distant pools for fall and winter practice. Kurtz said the program serves about 160 athletes, “the vast majority are Lake Oswego residents and students at Lake Oswego School District,” and that limited pool time has hampered training and forced some groups to practice outdoors. Beaumont said the nonprofit is inclusive and does not cut players, and that the deep competition pool at Lorac “has really improved the quality of our training.”

Both speakers proposed three practical steps: extend Lorac’s evening hours by an hour (from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.) to provide additional weekday training time; renegotiate the district contract to allow outside parties to share the competition pool when high‑school coaches and schedules permit; and segment lap‑swim hours into dedicated blocks so unused lanes are available for team practice. Staff and council acknowledged OSAA rules and school priorities give high‑school teams scheduling precedence, but council members asked staff to explore whether non‑conflicting hours and modest scheduling changes could improve access.

The matter was presented as a request for staff consideration rather than a formal council direction; no motion or vote followed public comment. Staff did not provide an immediate timeline for a contract amendment or schedule changes and indicated further coordination with the school district and Lorac staff would be required.