PORT ANGELES — An expansion planned for William Shore Memorial Pool has moved closer to fruition.
Clallam County commissioners Tuesday authorized a $39,960 Opportunity Fund grant for preliminary design of a westward expansion of the public pool at 225 E. Fifth St. in Port Angeles.
The grant to the junior taxing district that operates the pool is subject to final approval of the county prosecuting attorney’s office.
Steve Burke, executive director of the William Shore Memorial Pool District, said the expansion is necessary because the aquatic center has become overcrowded.
With 83,000 visits per year, pool attendance has doubled since the district was formed in 2010, Burke said in the grant application.
Burke added in a public hearing that expansion plans are consistent with the district’s fiscally conservative tradition and fit the “personality” of the community.
“This isn’t going to be an aquatic center that’s going to be on the front page of Architectural Digest by any means,” Burke told commissioners.
“It’s going to be a very practical expansion. And that was important to us.”
2019, 2020
The expansion will likely take place in 2019 or 2020, Burke said after the hearing.
The delay will allow the district to pay down debt from recent upgrades to the aquatic center, Burke said.
The William Shore Memorial Pool District has up to $6 million in available bond funding to pay for the expansion without asking voters to approve a bond measure, Burke has said.
The planned expansion would add a children’s play area and a group therapy pool for exercise and physical rehabilitation classes.
“We had two classes this morning with exercisers, 35 people each in the class,” Burke told commissioners.
“We start to max out at about 25. So it’s well-needed, and I believe it’s well-supported in the community because we have created a reputation that we are fiscally responsible and we only take the money that we need.”
The project is expected to create 17 new jobs and pump $3 million into the local economy, according to the grant application.
“We try to run our programs as efficiently as possible, and moving forward, we’d be still doing the same thing in an expansion,” said Burke, who is also a Port of Port Angeles commissioner.
New entrance possible
One option for the expansion would give the pool a new entrance off Lincoln Street.
District officials are in preliminary talks with Peninsula Behavioral Health to possibly relocate the PBH Horizon Center, which sits between the pool and Lincoln Street.
The Opportunity Fund is a portion of state sales tax that supports infrastructure in rural areas and personnel in economic development offices.
The Opportunity Fund Advisory Board unanimously recommended the grant to the William Shore Memorial Pool District on Jan. 28.
Voting members of the pool district board asked county commissioners to approve the grant in their April 26 meeting.
Commissioners Mike Chapman and Bill Peach, who also serve as pool district board members, abstained.
“Both commissioners abstained so they can have their full authority on the county commissioners’ side,” Burke said.
Voters within the boundaries of the Port Angeles School District approved the formation of the William Shore Memorial Pool District in 2009.
The pool had been owned and operated by the city of Port Angeles since 1962.
Chapman, one of the original pool district board members, noted that the district did not collect the full property tax in 2010.
“Our levy authorized us from the ballot to collect $525,000 the first year,” Burke said.
“We decided, since property values had dropped dramatically since the vote, that we would take significantly less. We took $450,000 at the start, and we took $450,000 mostly because that’s what we needed.”
About $2.1 million has been invested in the aquatic center since 2010, including a series of energy-efficiency upgrades.
“This is the first time the pool district has asked for any additional money outside of the vote,” Chapman said.
Opportunity Fund
Last March, county commissioners approved a $731,705 Opportunity Fund that will allow the former Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center to reopen this fall under the management of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.
The Opportunity Fund has a remaining balance of about $1.08 million.
While supporting the grant to the William Shore Memorial Pool District, Commissioner Mark Ozias requested a legal review to “make sure that this goes through successfully and that there aren’t any unforeseen hiccups.”
Peter Ripley of Port Angeles testified in support of the grant and pool expansion. No other speakers testified.
“I think [the pool] is a very vital element to our community and general overall public health, which you, the commission, said that you are in favor of,” Ripley said.
“And what better way to show that [than] by approving this funding?”
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
Terry Ward, publisher of the Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum, serves on the Olympic Peninsula YMCA board of directors.
