The mutually-beneficial agreement for operation of the Enumclaw Aquatic Center has gone from month-to-month status to something more permanent.
The swimming pool is owned and operated by the city of Enumclaw but sits on land owned by the Enumclaw School District.
For seven years the two public entities have agreed to a formal arrangement that rolls over each month. That changed the evening of Dec. 14 when members of the City Council unanimously agreed to a long-term pact. The new agreement carries a 20-year term and includes a pair of 10-year options.
The pool was originally built as part of King County’s Forward Thrust initiative. The county and school district inked a 40-year contract that kicked off in 1973. That agreement was still in play in 2003 when the city took ownership of the pool and the county stepped aside. When the original contract expired in 2013 the arrangement continued but on a month-to-month basis.
The new agreement includes safeguards important to both the city and school district, according to City Administrator Chris Searcy. For example, the district has “priority rights” to the pool for athletics (water polo and swim/dive teams) and for use by special needs programs. The city, which operates the pool through its Parks and Recreation Department, gets 40 dedicated parking stalls exclusively for pool users (close to the primary entry) and has a defined area for potential expansion (off the “back side”) of the building.
Also important is the fact that the city will likely be seeking outside dollars to make repairs and upgrades to the aging facility. A memo provided to the City Council noted that a long-term lease is needed so the city can meet eligibility requirements for state and county grants.
COSTS INCREASING FOR POOL USERS
Also during their Dec. 14 gathering, members of the council agreed to a sweeping set of fee increases that will greet users when the pool once again opens for business.
Michelle Larson, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, explained the process that resulted in the higher costs. Changes can be traced to recommendations offered by the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the Pool, which suggested a fee hike of 28 percent to be phased in from 2019 to 2021. Half of that increase came in 2019 with the remainder split between 2020 and 2021.
The new rates keep with the tradition of charging a bit more to those residing outside the city. For example, the hourly “open swim” fee for an in-city adult increases from $6.25 to $6.75; for a non-resident the rate moves from $7.50 to $8. The rate for youth swim lessons (eight sessions) was $65 and increases to $69.50; the non-resident rate has been bumped from $75 to $80.25.
