Roosevelt Island’s Marlins Swim Team, despite a recent contract signed with The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) that triples their fee for use of the Sportspark pool in 2008, is confident of its continued growth and presence on Roosevelt Island.

At its founding in January, 2005, the team had initially agreed to pay $30 an hour for use of the Sportspark pool, a fee that RIOC now finds inadequate. RIOC believes the new charge, set at $90 an hour for any community group using the pool, is a much more appropriate figure for covering the upkeep and maintenance costs at Sportspark. RIOC’s rate for a private permit of the pool (non-community groups) is $185 an hour.

"It’s very expensive to run a pool," said RIOC Program Assistant Donna Masly, in charge of RIOC permits. "There’s electricity, filtration, having staff in the building – this is not a number we pulled from the sky." Masly was unable to provide the calculations of how RIOC came to the $90 figure, but believes that they are on record.

The Marlins, who have just recently established themselves as the non-for-profit organization "Roosevelt Island Swimming, Inc.," have some concerns about their ability to pay the higher amount. "At present, we would not be able to afford the increased pool fee," said Corinna Kell, a Marlins board member and mother of two Marlins swimmers. "Our team is still in its beginning stages, and it makes just enough money to pay the coach, the instructors and the lifeguards."

The Marlins team members range from ages four to seventeen, and the team is made up almost entirely of Roosevelt Island residents. The Team’s board, all parents of Marlins swimmers, handles the finances and management of the team.

RIOC, according to Masly and RIOC Community Relations Specialist Erica Wilder, has made several offers to the Marlins Board to help with fundraising so that they can continue to use the Sportspark facility on the Island. "We think this is a wonderful opportunity for the youth of the Island, and we want to work with them as much as possible," said Masly. "We’re willing to help them with whatever they want – the ball is in their court now."

The Marlins board also remains hopeful about the future of the team: "We do not plan to fold," said Kell, speaking for the Swim Team board. "We look forward to working with RIOC in applying for grants and finding new ways to grow."