I’m going to talk about swimming pools today. Not fancy private pools like Jed Clampett’s (if you have to Google that, you’re much younger than I am), or pools that are part of a giant water park. I’m talking about rural municipal pools. Small town pools are a summer hub of social activity for the community and provide relief for people of all ages from the heat. They are vital to every small community that is fortunate enough to have one.
What’s not so fortunate is the cost of repairs, equipment replacement and maintenance. It’s impossible for a town of several hundred people to cover these costs with user fees. It’s also impossible to raise adequate funds via taxes, especially when deferred repairs have been stacking up for years due to lack of funding. It takes a steady mix of funding sources – user fees, taxes, grants and donations to keep a pool and pool house in good working (and safe) condition.
PRWA was happy to assist the Town of Oakesdale with a recent grant application for funds to help with some much needed repairs and upgrades to keep the pool open and accessible to everyone. We were delighted to find out in October that funds were awarded to Oakesdale to complete the work. And we’re helping the Oakesdale Parks and Recreation District get its contract paperwork in order so they can begin improving the pool next spring.
But PRWA wants to help more than one rural community pool at a time. We’re starting to collect information from rural communities across the state that have public pools. For those communities that want to provide information, we’re also asking for estimates for needed repairs and major equipment replacement. We’ll compile the information in the spring and work to bring together people and organizations from around the state who are willing to come together to do a Big Lift to help all the rural pools. With enough people at the table, we just might pull it off.
Just keep swimming…it will help work off the pumpkin pie.
Take care,
Jody
