Tags, American flags and posters adorn the fencing outside the closed down Pearl Street Pool in Centralia in this photo taken in July 2015.
The Centralia City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to dip their toes back into the Pearl Street Pool in anticipation of a deep dive that may take place later this year.
Councilors directed city staff to work with the state Department of Enterprise Services to initiate an investment-grade audit of the pool and bathhouse by energy services contractor Ameresco. Such an audit would produce the most comprehensive evaluation of the pool since it was shuttered in 2010 as well as a detailed project proposal for renovating and reopening both structures.
The audit is expected to be completed in the next few months at a price tag of around $25,000. The city council is then expected to use the findings, including detailed cost analysis of indefinite maintenance and operation of a remodeled pool, to either make a decision themselves or pose the question to Centralia voters in November of this year or February 2020.
“There’s a gamut of things we could do,” City Attorney Shannon Murphy-Olson said. “An advisory question would be one option. We could ask if citizens are willing to pay for a bond or a tax. We’re not sure what that form is going to be right now. Those discussions are just starting.”
Councilor Joyce Barnes is heavily involved with local nonprofit S.T.O.P. (Save the Outdoor Pool) and Swim, which has advocated for and raised funds in support of reopening the pool built in the 1950s as memorial to veterans. She advocated for the pool while running for her council seat in 2015 and has stated her intention to push the issue through to the expiration of her term on Dec. 31.
“As I understand it, we will be going on the ballot with it, one way or the other, in order to put this in front of the people,” Councilor Joyce Barnes said. “Originally, that’s how the pool was built. Let’s get this done once and for all.”
David McCaughey of Ameresco and DES engineer Steve Butros joined Community Development Director Emil Pierson to answer questions from the council prior to it taking a vote. McCaughey compared the expected results of the audit to what a school district would produce prior to seeking a bond measure for new construction.
The audit would produce renderings of a remodel, detailed design documents and include wide-ranging financial information for the city council and staff to consider. McCaughey said the process of working with DES requires a remodel as opposed to a complete reimagining of the property.
“The option of building a new pool is not really on the table, but you also have a very sound asset to build from,” McCaughey said. “Both the pool and the bathhouse are very solid.”
For Ameresco to work with a municipality via DES, they have to be contracted on the basis of energy performance, essentially signing on to find energy savings as part of a larger project that could factor in as cost savings down the road.
Cost proved to be the dominating subject of questions raised by councilors. A presentation made by McCaughey at a Feb. 12 meeting of the city council included an estimated price tag of about $3.5 million. Grant funding would be pursued, though the council cited the $1 million in required matching funds as reason why it declined in 2017 to seek a grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office.
Grants from the RCO require long-term commitments from recipients to projects completed using those dollars. Those grants would not operate in perpetuity, meaning that while they could make renovations possible, the city would be on the hook for the costs associated with running an outdoor pool.
“That’s been one question mark for a number of years,” Councilor Peter Abbarno said. “If we were to get an RCO grant, what would be the ongoing impact to the city budget? Can we absorb that without skipping a beat on the other duties the city has? I really do want to see it happen, I have young children who would love to have a pool downtown, however I’m not ready to leverage the budget and their future to do it.”
Barnes has floated the option of putting a tax levy for upkeep and maintenance of city parks on an upcoming ballot and did so again on Tuesday. Centralia currently does not collect money from residents specifically for that purpose and could use that money on the pool as well as Borst Park, Riverside Park and other public spaces.
Abbarno voiced his skepticism Wednesday that Centralia residents would support adding a new tax to the ledger, adding that having that debate now would be putting the cart before the horse — the horse being the audit. Barnes said going that route may put the city in a better position to support renovation of the pool.
“It would not only help the pool but would help the parks, baseball diamonds and everything else,” Barnes said. “It would not be a big parks tax but an easy one everyone could share in. I wouldn’t mind that at all, and it may be the way to go here.”
