PORT ANGELES — The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to fund the William Shore Memorial Pool through March 31, and told city staff to work with Clallam County to put a metropolitan parks taxing district on the ballot as soon as possible.
No boundaries or length of time for the proposed pool-funding district were outlined. Those are among the details to be worked out by city and county staffs.
The Port Angeles City Council acted after hearing a plan presented by Krista Winn, Save the Pool PA chairwoman, in which supporters of the only public pool in town hoped to see a proposal on a May ballot.
Council action was approved on 7-0 votes.
If voters in and around Port Angeles approve the taxing district, it would fund the pool’s maintenance and operations.
City-county action required
As a means of balancing the 2009 budget, the City Council said at a Sept. 24 meeting that the pool will close on Dec. 31 unless a firm plan were in place to fund pool operations, in which case, closure would be delayed until after March 31.
Both the City Council and the Clallam County commissioners would have to support a joint resolution to put a taxing district proposal to a vote.
Winn said Save the Pool PA members will discuss the idea with the Clallam County commissioners on Monday.
County Commissioner Mike Chapman said at a community meeting on Oct. 3 — which resulted in the formation of Save the Pool PA — that the three commissioners would consider funding the cost of a special election and be repaid later if it is successful.
Winn said a city and county joint resolution would cover the scope of work and boundaries of a district.
The boundaries might follow those of the Port Angeles School District, which takes in wide areas of unincorporated territory surrounding the Port Angeles city limit.
A five-member board for the pool-funding district would be elected by voters.
As part of its plan, Save the Pool PA, which has about 50 active members, is accepting donations to provide for the $90,000 needed to fund pool operations for the second quarter of 2009, after the city’s last day of funding on March 31.
Most standing
To illustrate the effect of a pool closure, Winn asked all those in the council chambers to stand if they had been involved with Save the Pool PA, on a swim team or club, or had used the pool at any time.
Almost no one was left sitting, including City Council members.
“You’ve asked for a credible community movement, and here is your movement,” Winn said to applause from the crowd.
An additional $380,000 annually — over what the city receives in pool fees — is needed to keep the pool open. The gap between revenue and expenses is currently made up by the city’s general fund.
That figure does not include fee increases enacted Nov. 1 that are projected to add $60,000 in revenue a year.
Winn said pools are a valuable asset to communities, especially those surrounded by water.
Clallam County has one of the highest drowning rates in the state, she said.
A pool is also essential, Winn said, for special needs students and those who are restricted in the physical activity.
“We have one choice, one pool,” Winn said.
Pledge drive
Also part of the plan is for the city to accept tax-deductible donations to fund the pool during the second quarter of next year.
The pledge drive is planned to last until Dec. 1, and financial donations and other contributions have been forthcoming even before the pledge officially began on Monday.
They include:
•âÇA proposed $3,000 a month lease of the pool by Olympic Medical Center for physical therapy, which is before hospital commissioners for consideration today.
•âÇAn OMC Foundation donation of $12,000.
•âÇA Jamestown S’Klallam tribal donation of $1,500.
•âÇ$2,000 from community members.
•âÇPurchase of 4,428 swim passes by the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe for 2009.
Winn also presented recommendations from Save the Pool PA on raising revenue and decreasing expenses for the pool.
City lodging tax
Among those suggestions was one to allocate city lodging tax revenue to the pool’s operation.
The bed tax funding is intended to go to projects that attract tourism and people to Port Angeles.
Winn said that hundreds of swimmers come to Port Angeles to attend the swim meets held at the pool through the year.
Other recommendations were based on a similar committee formed in Kitsap County to save the North Kitsap pool.
That group has succeeded in keeping its pool open until August of next year.
Those recommendations included:
•âÇNot using a lifeguard for swim teams and clubs, as long as a coach is recognized as serving as a qualified lifeguard. That could save $100 a day.
•âÇSwitching form a chlorine tablet chemical system to a liquid chemical system, with possible savings of $50,000 a year.
•âÇPlacing a cover over the pool when its not in use, to save $1,000 a month. The cover is not used now because of a broken roller.
Figures of cost savings are based upon the North Kitsap pool.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
