SEQUIM — The city will provide $5,000 to Clallam County Family YMCA to help fund a $36,000 market feasibility study to determine if the nonprofit should assume management of the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center.
The YMCA, SARC, Clallam County, Olympic Medical Center and private donors also are providing money for the survey.
The City Council unanimously voted at Monday’s regular meeting to authorize City Manager Charlie Bush to sign a memorandum of understanding with YMCA to allocate the money.
The council had tabled action on the memorandum during a Sept. 28 meeting because the three Clallam County commissioners had not yet weighed in on providing money to YMCA for the survey.
Matching funds
On Oct. 6, the three commissioners agreed to match a city of Sequim contribution up to $6,000.
“I am glad we waited” for a county commitment, said Councilwoman Laura Dubois.
Councilwoman Genaveve Starr voted for allocation “because I think it is a monetary demonstration of the support that we have been declaring for a long time that we have for SARC,” she said.
Mayor Candace Pratt said she is “very pleased with the collaboration [YMCA has] put together, and the market feasibility study is vitally important.”
Councilman Ted Miller said that while he is “normally . . . very concerned about approving taxpayer funds for trying to support some other organization . . . this is a special case. Maintaining the SARC pool is essential to the community.”
In order for SARC to be successful in the long term, “the pool has to be the focus, and there has to be some opportunity to have the pool environment expand so there is both competitive sport-type activity and opportunities, but also purely recreational family-centered activities as well,” said Councilman Ken Hays.
Only public pool
The exercise facility at 610 N. Fifth Ave., known as SARC, includes the city’s only public pool.
The SARC board has said the facility will close by September 2016 because of a lack of funds, even with a cutback in hours that began last week.
On Oct. 7, Sequim-area residents began receiving survey phone calls to gauge community interest in YMCA’s proposal.
The phone survey will be conducted through Oct. 24.
The callers identify themselves as Strategic Research Associates — the Spokane company conducting the feasibility study — and will not ask for personally identifiable information, said Kyle Cronk, Olympic Peninsula YMCA chief executive officer.
Where to visit
Residents who do not receive a phone call but would like to provide feedback can do so by visiting http://tinyurl.com/SARC-YMCASurvey.
“We’ve designed our survey effort to be as inclusive as possible, which is why a public version of the survey is available for everyone online, ensuring that even those who do not receive a phone call are given an opportunity to share their opinions and be included in the survey results,” Cronk said.
“Responses from online and telephone are analyzed both independently and together in summary form in our final report to determine the true needs of the community and help us develop a complete picture of the support the community has for this proposed plan.”
Business plan
The survey results will be used to determine a business plan, he said.
“I think there are several paths forward.”
If the results of the study are favorable, Cronk has said YMCA will present a proposal to the SARC board in November.
YMCA has no intention of asking for the dissolution of SARC, initially formed as Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1, a junior taxing district, in 1988, Cronk said.
“In the path that we think will have the most merit moving forward, our plan is to keep them as an entity and to keep us as an entity and enter into [a] management agreement so that when this is successful, SARC could still go back to the voters for future capital needs.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
