EDITOR’S NOTE: This report corrects that the Clallam County Opportunity Fund Advisory Board plans to arrive at a recommendation on Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center’s request for $760,500 from the county Opportunity Fund when it meets at 10:30 a.m. Friday at 905 W. Ninth St., room 230, in Port Angeles. This report also corrects that the recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners, which will take up the matter at a later date.
SEQUIM — If two efforts to secure funding pan out in the coming weeks, the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center could be on track to be reopened and operated by the YMCA as early as July, according to YMCA officials.
First, the Sequim City Council will meet tonight to determine if the city will contribute to the reopening of the pool and fitness facility known as SARC at 610 N. Fifth Ave.
“It looks reasonably optimistic,” said Len Borchers, executive director for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.
Next, the Clallam County Opportunity Fund Advisory Board plans to decide on its recommendation regarding SARC’s request for $760,500 from the county Opportunity Fund when it meets Friday. The recommendation will then go to county commissioners, who have the final say and will take up the matter at a later date.
In addition, the YMCA will also need support from Sequim School District and from Olympic Medical Center, each of which have expressed interest in contributing to keeping the pool open.
SARC was formed as Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1, a junior taxing district, in 1988.
In February, a property tax levy of 12 cents or less per $1,000 of assessed property value to fund repairs and operations of the facility failed, with 57.51 percent voting in favor and 42.49 percent against.
As a junior taxing district, SARC needed a 60 percent supermajority to pass levies.
SARC closed Oct. 30, with a temporary extension of pool use for the Sequim High School girls swim team, which continued using the pool through the end of their competitive season.
The Sequim City Council will consider a three year, $30,000 annual contract with the Olympic Peninsula YMCA for services at SARC when they meet at 5 p.m. tonight at the Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St.
“It’s a positive direction,” Sequim Mayor Candace Pratt said Sunday.
City residents make up about 20 percent of SARC users, Pratt said.
“It’s a lot of money for the city but a small portion of the overall funds needed,” she said.
City funding is contingent on the YMCA and SARC board reaching an agreement on the YMCA operating the facility and on SARC receiving a grant from the Clallam Opportunity Fund.
The Opportunity Fund Advisory Board plans to arrive at a recommendation on SARC’s request for $760,500 from the fund when it meets at 10:30 a.m. Friday at 905 W. Ninth St., room 230, in Port Angeles, according to board chair Alan Barnard.
The grant money, if county commissioners approve it, would replace a failing air handler at the pool — a key requirement for the operation of the pool, Borchers said.
There are major repairs needed before the pool can reopen with confidence that it would remain operational without a serious mechanical issue cropping up, he said.
Borchers said that once all funding is in place, it would take about six months to complete all repairs, then staff and reopen the pool as a YMCA facility.
It will take a month or more to potentially secure all funding and make a final decision, he said.
Pool management is within the nonprofit organization’s experience; pools are a common feature at YMCA fitness facilities across the country.
Under the contract with the city, the YMCA would provide reduced membership fees to low-income individuals or families.
The current estimate for monthly membership fees is $40 to $45 per month, Borchers said.
The rate is what is necessary to “provide services and ongoing improvements,” he said.
Borchers said the fee is higher than many people surveyed by the YMCA said they wanted to pay.
Donations to the YMCA would be used to provide reduced-cost membership and reduced-cost events, he said.
He said there would also be a day-use fee available.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
