PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend City Council has delayed a vote to support recommended plans for the Healthier Together Mountain View pool project, which, if approved by the county, would include establishing a countywide district and a sales tax increase.
Council members on Monday were largely in support of the project but said there were a few outstanding issues they’d like to have more information on before voting to support the project as recommended by the steering committee.
The council voted to table the discussion until a future, still-to-be-determined date when additional information could be provided.
If the city supports it, the project would go before Jefferson County commissioners, who would decide whether or not to put the issue before the county’s voters.
Commissioners would have until February to make a decision to send the question to voters if the project is to appear on an April ballot.
Council members were asked to voice support for the project so that the Jefferson Aquatic Coalition — which has committed to leading a public support campaign and private fundraising efforts — would feel comfortable moving ahead with raising money.
Healthier Together Initiative is a joint effort between Jefferson County, the City of Port Townsend, Jefferson Hospital District, Port Townsend School District, Olympic Peninsula YMCA, Jefferson Aquatic Coalition and the Port of Port Townsend.
A steering committee working with Opsis Architecture of Portland, Ore., finalized several recommendations for the project which were brought before council members at their regular meeting Monday.
Those recommendations include siting the new facility at the Mountain View Commons; supporting an aquatic-only facility, unless private fund development is successful and a gym can be added; committing to raise $15 million in grants; asking voters to establish a public facilities district (PFD), which would add a two-tenths of 1 percent sales tax countywide; keeping the old pool running until a new pool is established and timing a voter-approved initiative for a special election in April 2024.
While largely in support of the project, council members voiced concerns about the administration of the facility, the lack of public showers and relocation of the city dog park among other issues.
“Now we sit here tonight with, for me, lots of unanswered questions, and yet a timeline that gives us no time,” said council member Monica MickHagger.
“I am not on the fence in supporting this, but that is hard for me to say. We just are not sitting at a point where I’m comfortable with the ambiguity.”
Council members were concerned there was no guarantee a representative from the city would serve in the PFD’s leadership and wanted an agreement with the county that someone from the city would be involved.
Port Townsend also has made providing public shower facilities a priority. Current plans for the new facility don’t include showers.
“I think with this amount of public investment, public showers need to be part of the plan,” said council member Aislinn Palmer.
Designers have provided two versions of a new facility, a base version with several amenities that were prioritized in public feedback sessions and full build-out version with added features like a full-size gymnasium and outdoor pickleball courts.
The steering committee recommended pursuing the base version of the facility but trying for the full build-out version depending on fundraising efforts.
Designers projected the roughly 30,000-square-foot base version to cost roughly $37.1 million to construct with an annual operating cost of $1.27 million. The base version of the facility is projected to bring in annual revenue of $840,000, requiring a city subsidy of roughly $430,000. The city currently provides a subsidy of $400,000 to the existing Mountain View pool.
The more than 40,000-square-foot full build-out version is projected to cost roughly $46 million to construct with $2.08 million in annual operating costs. However, due to the added amenities of the full version, designers project the larger facility to bring in $1.73 million in annual revenue, requiring a smaller city subsidy of $350,000.
But who will ultimately run the facility is yet to be determined. The YMCA of Jefferson County, which manages the current pool, is one possibility, but that arrangement hasn’t been settled.
Despite the concerns about the current plan, council members expressed support for the pool project and said they were confident that issues could be resolved.
“I’m feeling somewhat confident that, for the first time, I feel like there’s enough broad-based community support, from the hospital, from the school district,” said council member Libby Urner Wennstrom. “In order to make this work, the community had to come together, these organizations stepping up saying we’re going to support this.”
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
