» Group floats pool district

By Amy Moss Strong
Editor
Thursday, July 16, 2009 | 5 comment(s) Bandon residents may answer a knock on the door in the coming months to find a Pool Committee member asking for signatures.

The committee wants to create a recreation taxing district that includes the Bandon area (School District boundaries), to help complete the actual construction and to fund ongoing operations of a community swimming pool.

To do that, the group first had to get permission from the City Council, in the form of a resolution, to include the city of Bandon within the boundaries of the Greater Bandon Area Pool and Recreation District.

The Pool Committee’s adviser and project manager, Mike Alexander, addressed the council last week to ask for such a resolution.

The council voted 5-1 in favor of the request, with Councilors Claudine Hundhausen, Nancy Drew, Geri Procetto, Blythe Tiffany and Mike Claassen voting yes and Councilor Brian Vick voting no. Vick did not elaborate on his vote.

The pool committee has been working to raise the money needed to build a community pool in Bandon. The proposed site has been leased for $1 a year by the School District and is adjacent to the existing softball fields on 11th Street. Through grants and fundraisers, the group has raised almost $1 million toward the estimated $3 million project. Part of that money is promised Urban Renewal funds from the city in the amount of $600,000. Some of the money has been spent on engineered drawings and plans. Alexander said the group has developed plans for a hybrid pool, based on similar pools in the Portland area, that would appeal to a wide range of users. The pool would consist of a lap pool, along with an area for children and a slide or other amenities.

“If we’re going to take an honest approach to this, we’re going to need more money, because we won’t have enough to run the facility,” Alexander said.

The committee hopes to receive $100,000 to $150,000 a year from the recreation district that would be used to fund operations. In addition, the committee has estimated the pool would create $100,000 to $150,000 in yearly revenues. The group hopes to get some of the funds to complete the pool from Oregon-based foundations.

“With the downfall in the economy, we were told to talk to them again in 2010,” Alexander said.

Pool Committee members include President Diane Smith, Vice President Nicole Erenfeld and board members Les Funk, Bill Barnes and Rose Hewitson. 

A couple of people at the meeting were opposed to the idea. Esther Williams, a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, said if it is considered a “recreation district,” she’d like the commission to also see some of the money. Alexander said the district wouldn’t fund city project, but strictly for the “greater Bandon area” pool. Roger Straus said he had a lot of concerns about the idea, stressing that almost all of the local taxing districts are dealing with reduced tax dollars.

“We have this host of districts we are paying for now,” Straus said. “You can talk about how great it is to have a district, but they are all struggling.”

The Pool Committee will approach the Coos County Board of Commissioners for approval of a petition that will be circulated to place the district formation and a tax base on the November 2011 ballot. The group must first gather 600 signatures.

If an adequate amount of signatures are gathered, the matter will be placed on the ballot for the voters to decide.