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 will continue debating the prospect of placing a bond measure to finance renovation or reconstruction of the Pearl Street Pool on the November ballot during its regular meeting on Tuesday evening. Only residents living within Centralia city limits would be asked to vote on such an item.
For the average Centralia home — which carries a value of about $219,000 — passage of the bond measure would add an estimated $73.30 per year in property taxes for the most expensive option and $50.80 for only a new pool, according to the agenda packet published ahead of the council meeting.
A draft of a possible ballot proposition is included in the agenda packet. Spaces for dollar figures are left blank in the draft language, because the city has yet to decide whether it will be a remodel or a from-scratch rebuild. According to the agenda packet, a remodel would require asking voters for $3.879 million over a 20 year period, with a completely new pool requiring an even $4 million.
The council also has to decide whether it wants the city to include an estimated $120,000 per year, or $2.4 million over 20 years, for annual maintenance and operation of the pool in the dollar amount it puts before the voters. The added annual property tax per thousand dollars of assessed value would be $0.23 with just the pool or $0.33 including maintenance and operation costs.
“I think the goal of the ballot measure is to at least bring the discussion in one direction or another,” said council member Peter Abbarno. “… I don’t always look at tax increases by their size. If you do that, they add up little by little, but the citizens of Centralia just voted in favor of a levy and a bond that increased their taxes. We also have to remember that in February, the Centralia School District is likely to ask for another levy. I’m not sure residents have the stomach for all of those taxes, but we’re going to find out.”
Both the pool and bath house would be updated if the proposition makes it on the ballot and passes muster with Centralia voters. Some residents, including those affiliated with local nonprofit S.T.O.P. and Swim, have pushed for the reopening of the outdoor pool since the city ceased opening it for summer beginning in 2011. The pool was initially built more than a half-century ago as a memorial for veterans of World War II.
City staff worked with the Washington Department of Enterprise Services and contracting firm Ameresco earlier this year to complete an investment-grade audit of the pool facilities to determine the scope of work required and preliminary cost estimates for both a remodel and replacement effort. Grant Thorsland, project manager for Ameresco, told the council last month during a workshop that in his opinion, it would be best for the city to tear down the existing structures and start over.
Proponents of the proposed ballot measure have stated their belief that continued economic growth in Centralia will bring more families to the area who could benefit from having a safe, inexpensive summer activity in the heart of the city. Detractors believe the site should be repurposed in a different, less expensive manner.
“I think the discussion about this has been dragging on since before I even got on the council (in 2016),” Abbarno said. “It will be good to get the input from the community as far as where we’re going to go with it.”
