The 3 Minute Activist
Kyle, Texas (July 31, 2006).

Thomas Mattis, City Manager P O Box 40 Kyle, Texas 78640 Miguel Gonzalez, Mayor of Kyle 116 Fall Creek Dr. Kyle, TX 78640 Crystal Modawell, Kyle Pool Manager 1300 W. center St. Kyle, Texas 78640 Kerry Urbanowicz, Parks and Recreation Department Director P O Box 40 Kyle, Texas 78640 Dear Mayor Gonzalez, City Manager Mr. Mattis, Pool Manager Ms. Modawell, and Parks Director Ms. Urbanowicz, I read the July 5th news story (http://www.haysfreepress.com/articles/2006/07/06/front_page_news/news2.txt) and the July 12th letter(http://www.haysfreepress.com/articles/2006/07/12/letters/letters2.txt), about the unfortunate incident at the Kyle pool in which a nursing mother was asked to move somewhere else to nurse her son while her 5 year old was swimming in a life jacket nearby. When the mother refused to move, allegedly Crystal Modawell asked her to cover up. It seems pool and city officials are trying to get around the issue by claiming "it is distracting to lifeguards and swimmers" and "When you see something like that, it draws people's attention from the pool. You kind of take a double take, triple take, then you sink to the bottom of the pool." I understand some city officials are not comfortable with nursing in public, and some employees and customers at the pool might also be uncomfortable. You will find helpful information for handling customer complaints about nursing in public in the "For Businesses" section on ProMoM.org (http://www.promom.org/bf_info/for_businesses.html). A similar incident occurred at a pool in Arlington Texas in June of 2005. Arlington officials apologized and instituted training immediately. Perhaps the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department could aid Kyle in incorporating training for facility managers to help prevent the harassment of nursing mothers in the future. I urge you to admit your error in asking the mother to leave or cover-up. Please begin educating city officials and employees. Posting information at the entrance to pools welcoming nursing mothers and stating Texas law: " A mother is entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location in which the mother is authorized to be" will also convey a true desire on your part to welcome nursing moms and follow state law. Sincerely,
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