Alumni ask South Lane school board to name Cottage Grove pool for coach Bud Taylor
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Summary
An alumni group asked the South Lane School District board to name the tank at the Warren Doherty Aquatic Center for longtime coach Bud Taylor, offering private funding and a plaque; board members expressed informal support and asked staff to begin feasibility and policy work rather than take an immediate vote.
An alumni group urged the South Lane School District board on Tuesday to permanently recognize longtime Cottage Grove coach Bud Taylor by naming the pool tank at the Warren Doherty Aquatic Center and installing a plaque and mural, a proposal the board asked staff to explore.
"My name is Patrick Russell. I am a Cottage Grove High School class of 1977 alumnus," said Patrick Russell, who presented the alumni group's request via Zoom and said the work would be privately funded. "We actually received a call today ... the Doherty family ... would be in favor of broadening the recognition ... and include his name on the aquatic center." Russell said the alumni had obtained preliminary quotes and expected the cost to be less than $10,000.
The request grew out of presentations from several former swimmers describing Taylor’s decades-long role in developing successful swim and water polo programs. Dale Chapman, who identified himself as an alumnus, told the board Taylor ‘‘taught life lessons that I've used my entire life’’ and urged the board to honor his contributions.
Board members voiced broad informal support and asked for the next steps to follow district naming policy. Chair (speaker 2) and several board members said they were not ready to make a formal decision at the meeting but that staff should start feasibility work, gather the Doherty family's input in writing, and return with options and any policy constraints.
The alumni’s proposal would not ask the district to pay for the work; Russell said alumni and private donations would be the funding source. Board members noted the district maintains formal procedures for facility naming and that the board would need to review feasibility, logistics and any formal policy steps before approving a permanent name change.
Next procedural steps: the board asked staff to look into policy timelines and logistics and to report back; no formal vote or adoption occurred at the meeting.
The alumni presentation and the board’s informal support are expected to inform next steps at a future meeting.
