PORT ANGELES — Thirteen months after its initial approval, Clallam County has authorized a $39,960 grant to the William Shore Memorial Pool District to help fund the design of an expanded aquatic center.
The three commissioners Tuesday approved a resolution awarding the Opportunity Fund grant to the junior taxing district that operates William Shore Memorial Pool at 225 E. Fifth St. in Port Angeles.
The grant, which was first authorized in June 2016, was held back on procedural grounds and a condition that the city of Port Angeles add the pool to its comprehensive plan.
Civil prosecutors determined that the necessary steps had been taken, and the city updated its comprehensive plan last month.
“More than in a year in the making, but we finally got it done,” County Administrator Jim Jones said in the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday.
Pool Executive Director Steve Burke attended the meeting and gave the board a thumbs-up when they approved the grant.
The funds will be used to pay for a preliminary design of the estimated $10 million expansion of the 56-year-old facility.
District officials have said they hope to begin the expansion project in the fall of 2018 and complete the work in late 2019 or 2020.
The expansion will be funded with state grants and a $6.3 million bond that will be paid back over 20 to 30 years, Burke said in a presentation to Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce members.
William Shore Memorial Pool had a record 100,000 visits in 2016, Burke has said.
To meet that demand, district officials have proposed an expansion with new locker rooms, a warm-water exercise/therapy pool, dry and steam saunas, a kids’ play area and increased parking, among other amenities.
The main entrance will be moved to the west side of the building with prominent visibility from Lincoln Street.
Meanwhile, Peninsula Behavioral Health is evaluating nearby properties for the potential relocation of the Horizon Center, which sits where the pool’s new parking lot is envisioned.
The Horizon Center at 205 E. Fifth St. is a day-use gathering place and support center for PBH clients.
Peninsula Behavioral Health lacks sufficient space at its main campus at 118 E. Eighth St. to move the services there, agency spokeswoman Rebekah Miller said in a Wednesday interview.
“Steve Burke and the commissioners have been terrific to work with, and they know that Horizon Center is a vital part of our community services,” Miller said in a Tuesday email.
“We have been looking at properties near the current location to possibly pick up and move our building, but it’s still not settled.”
The William Shore Memorial Pool District has operated the pool since 2009.
For information on the pool and its expansion plans, click on www. williamshorepool.org.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
