PORT ANGELES — William Shore Memorial Pool District commissioners agreed Tuesday to let its advisory committee come up with a proposal for managing the pool in-house after hearing vehement objections to giving the contract to the Clallam County Family YMCA.
The seven-member advisory group has a month to develop a proposed budget for the park district hiring its own staff to operate the pool.
“We appreciate the opportunity,” Steve Burke, speaking for the advisory committee, told the commissioners who oversee the taxing district.
“We had never been given an opportunity until now.”
Pool commissioners are expected to consider the competing proposals — an in-house plan, as well a proposed contract with the YMCA — on March 23.
The sometimes boisterous crowd of about 30 people at Tuesday’s meeting was made up almost entirely of pool users who said they felt that paying the YMCA to manage the pool on their behalf was not what the voters were looking for when they approved the formation of the metropolitan park district to fund the facility last spring.
Burke said voters marked their ballots expecting the park district to run the pool itself.
“In essence, we’ve given up that right,” he said during the public comment period.
“We’ve given it to the Y to run it for us.”
Critics of the $363,552 per year contract proposal with the YMCA, which is still being revised in draft form, also said they thought the nonprofit organization was getting too good of a deal.
They were concerned that the YMCA could make a “profit” if revenue comes in higher than projected.
The proposed contract amount is the difference between projected revenue and expenses.
Laura Black, YMCA board president, and board member Gary Huff defended the organization.
“The YMCA does not expect to make any money off of this contract,” Huff said.
“The well being of the entire community is in everyone’s minds,” Black said.
YMCA management
Under the proposed contract — which commission chairman Mike Chapman said should be ready for a vote at the commission’s March 23 meeting — the YMCA would manage the day-to-day operations of the pool, which includes managing staff.
Any “major” changes to classes and other pool services would have to be approved by the five-member commission.
Hours could not be reduced, and the commissioners still would approve contracts with local swim teams.
Any pool revenue above the average of $15,600 per month would be split between the YMCA and park district, which fed many of the concerns of the nonprofit organization would use pool funds to cover costs of its other facilities, such as its center at 302 S. Francis St., Port Angeles
In the current draft of the contract, there is no requirement about how the YMCA uses its share of the additional revenue.
“Our general tendency is to place [additional revenue] back into the program,” Black told the Peninsula Daily News after the meeting.
But she added she could not say for sure how those funds would be used, since the board has yet to talk about it.
Huff said he expects the YMCA’s share of an increase in revenue would go into a reserve fund for pool operations.
Charlie McClain, park district accountant, told the PDN that under the current proposal, if expenses come in below what is projected and revenue remains on par, the savings would go to the YMCA.
But, he added, if expenses go above projections and revenue doesn’t make up for it, they would have to cover those costs.
McClain said that the YMCA is more likely to lose money rather than gain any under that arrangement.
Save money
Commissioners said they decided to seek a contractor to manage the pool to save money. McClain has said this arrangement will save the park district about $50,000 per year.
The YMCA was the only organization to respond by the deadline in November.
Chapman said the commissioners will continue to negotiate the YMCA contract over the next month and try to incorporate some of the suggestions from the meeting.
That includes a requirement that the YMCA give current pool employees priority for hiring.
It’s expected that the YMCA will have to hire its own staff to ensure that they comply with the national organization’s certifications and do their own background checks.
The park district has owned the pool since June, but has contracted pool management to the city since then. That arrangement will expire this June.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
