PORT ANGELES — Voters have saved the pool.
By a 2-to-1 majority in ballots counted Tuesday night, voters approved the creation of a metropolitan park district to maintain and operate William Shore Memorial Pool.
Krista Winn, Save the Pool PA chairwoman, walked across the street to the pool from the county election center to announce the results.
She was greeted with shrieks and tears from about 50 parents and children who had been anxiously waiting to hear the news.
“I’m so excited, and it is such a relief,” she said.
“I knew we could do it.”
The vote was 6,484 in favor of the proposed park district, or 67.48 percent, to 3,125, or 32.52 percent, against it.
About 500 ballots remain to be counted, and an unknown number of ballots are expected to arrive in the mail today.
Remaining ballots
Clallam County Auditor Patty Rosand said she did not expect the remaining ballots to change the outcome.
The new park district will support the pool, which was previously funded by the city.
The City Council said the city could no longer afford the pool’s $450,000 in expenses per year.
City officials would have closed the pool, which has been funded by donations since April 1, on June 15 if the ballot measure had been rejected by voters.
Winn said about 100 volunteers and more than 300 donors helped her with the campaign.
“I am proud of our community for taking a stance and showing that the pool is a valued part of our lives,” Winn said.
“The election results demonstrate that we are not a small special-interest group.
“We are a united community concerned about the health and future of our citizens.”
The park district will raise property tax estimated at 15 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation on property within the boundaries of the Port Angeles School District.
The levy will cost the owner of a $200,000 home — the median price of a home within the school district — about $30 a year.
Taxes will begin to be levied in April 2010.
Until then the district can borrow money, possibly from the state, to keep the pool afloat, the committee has said.
‘The pool is saved!’
Haley Lasley, Ashlee Reid, Kelsey Macias and Tori Bock — who are all on the Port Angeles swim team, ran up Lincoln Street shouting “The pool is saved!” before running into the pool building to celebrate with those inside.
“This is a sport that we can do every day — this is so good for us,” Reid said.
Bock added: “Some of us have been doing this since we were 8.
“Even though it isn’t the best pool in the whole world, it is still close to my heart.”
At City Hall, City Council member Cherie Kidd and Deputy Mayor Betsy Wharton jumped out of their seats in celebration when City Manager Kent Myers announced the results during Tuesday night’s council meeting.
“The town came together like I’ve never seen,” Kidd said after the meeting.
“It was the community coming together in the spirit of cooperation.”
The next step is for the City Council and county commissioners to set up the park district.
Wharton said the two elected bodies will “make sure the organization gets off to a very fine start.”
Mike Chapman, one of the three county commissioners, was a key player last fall in shaping the proposal to create a park district.
“The pool committee did a great job convincing the community that a pool is an essential part of the community — which it really is,” said Chapman.
The ballot measure required a simple majority to pass.
The county sent out 19,161 ballots to voters within the school district boundaries, which is the area defined for the proposed park district.
Voter turnout as of Tuesday night was 50.2 percent.
The next count of ballots will be on Friday by 4:30 p.m., and the election will be certified June 3.
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Reporter Tom Callis contributed to this report.
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
