South Central Reporter

City of Centralia Fairview Park Pool Committee met Nov. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

City Hall

I. CALL TO ORDER – Meeting called to order at 5:31PM.

II. ROLL CALL

III. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – None

IV. MINUTES

1. August 8th, 2023: A motion to approve the minutes 1st Collins 2nd Allen. All present voted in favor of approving the minutes with none opposing.

V. ONGOING BUSINESS

1. Burbach – Phase I Step II: Update

i. Burbach Aquatics staff member Josh provided an overview of the work the Pool Committee and Burbach Aquatics has done to this point. Josh stated that the Committee has looked at the competing pools in our area (30 miles radius), the potential service population, conceptual site plans (eight {8} different versions), estimated operating costs for a spray pad & barebones pool, and community surveys. Josh continued by reviewing a sample of how Burbach Aquatics has structured recommendations to the city councils in other communities.

VI. NEW BUSINESS

1. Review of Public Surveys

i. Sherman presented the survey data to the Committee members. Sherman stated that this is not raw data as he did not want to overwhelm the Committee with over 700 different data points in a spreadsheet. This data is generally analyzed based on total responses to the survey. Sherman stated that all questions required an answer, to gather a full picture of people’s opinions even if they answered that they did not want a pool or spray pad. Total responses were 712 recorded via online and paper surveys. 93.8% of all respondents stated they were citizens of the city of Centralia. 72.9% of respondents felt that we should install a new pool. 65.9% of respondents did not favor a spray pad/splash pad. On the question about frequency of attendance for a pool, 33% stated that they would never visit a pool, 20.8% stated that they would attend 1 day a week, 18.4% stated that they would attend 2 days a week, 14.3% stated that they would attend 3 days a week, 6.7% stated that they would attend 4 days a week, 3.2% stated that they would attend 5 days a week, 0.8% stated that they would attend 6 days a week, and 2.7% stated that they would attend 7 days a week. Respondents were only able to select one of these attendance options. On the question about frequency of attendance for a spray pad, 70.6% of respondents stated that they would never visit a spray pad, 13.5% of respondents said they would attend 1 day a week, 8.1% said they would attend 2 days a week, 3.4% said they would attend 3 days a week, 2.4% said they would attend 4 days a week, 0.8% said they would attend 5 days a week, 0.3% said they would attend 6 days a week, and 0.8% said they would attend 7 days a week. On the question of how citizens would use a pool, 69.4% said they would utilize a pool for recreation, 39.6% said they would use a pool for health reasons, 6.3% said they would use a pool for competition, 33.1% said they would use a pool for swimming lessons, and 26.4% said they have no opinion. This question allowed respondents to select multiple options to showcase the various use-interests of the community. On the question about the type of amenities respondents would like to see in a pool, a majority of respondents favored an open swimming area, a majority of respondents were not in favor of lap swimming lanes, a majority of respondents were in favor of a lazy river, a majority of respondents were not in favor of a spray pad, a majority of respondents were in favor of diving boards, a majority of respondents were in favor of a waterslide, a majority of respondents were not in favor of or had no opinion on a drop slide, a majority of respondents were not in favor of a climbing wall, a majority of respondents were in favor of a zero-depth entry pool, a majority of respondents were not in favor of a water-walk, and a majority of respondents were in favor of a concession area. On the question about respondents’ willingness to raise property taxes, 62.1% were not willing to have their property taxes raised for a pool and 37.9% were willing to have their property taxes raised. On the question about respondents’ willingness to raise sales taxes, 50.85% were not willing to raise sales taxes and 49.2% were willing to have their sales taxes increased. On the question of respondents’ willingness to attend a public meeting about a pool project to provide input, 52.2% were not willing to attend a public meeting to voice their opinion on a potential pool project. On the question of respondents’ current aquatic recreation facilities they utilize, 21.1% said they utilize the Centralia Recreation Complex, 30.8% said they utilize the Mt. Vernon Aquatic Zoo, 33.1% said they utilize the Salem Family Aquatic Center, 32.2% said they utilize a personal pool, 20.9% said they utilize another pool, and 20.6% said they do not utilize a pool. This question allowed respondents to select multiple options. On the question about how much respondents would expect a daily fee to be for a new outdoor pool, 52.2% said they expected it to be $5-$7, 22.9% said they expected it to $8-$9, 19.8% said they expected it to be $10-$12, and 5.1% said they expected it to be greater than $12. Respondents could only select one of these options. On the question of which conceptual site plan respondents preferred, 37.8% preferred Conceptual Site Plan #1 ($9.655 million), 28.1% preferred Conceptual Site Plan #8 ($4.32 million), 24.3% preferred Conceptual Site Plan #6 ($693,000), and 9.8% preferred Conceptual Site Plan #4 ($3.733 million). Respondents were only able to select one of these options. Price asked the question that if respondents were not in favor of a property tax increase and the higher daily attendance fee, how do they expect the city to pay for this project. Keef responded that she interprets this to mean respondents expect the community to fundraise millions of dollars. Sherman responded that citizens could be under the misunderstanding that the city is financially well off enough to afford this project with existing revenues, grants, and fundraising. Collins asked if there were grants to cover this project and if we could fundraise enough for this project. Sherman responded that at the moment to city staff & Burbach aquatics staff’s knowledge there is only one grant available for pool construction and it is only $600,000. Josh stated that out of the conceptual site plans the committee has reviewed this would only nearly cover a standalone spray pad. Josh continued that typically these projects are normally fundraised through private donations within the community. Collins asked how Carlyle paid for their new pool. Josh responded that they put it on a sales tax increase, but due to new increased construction estimates Carlyle will be suspending their new pool project.

VII. DISCUSSION

1. Next Meeting Agenda Items

i. Age demographics from survey respondents.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:02PM 1st Collins 2nd Price. All present voted in favor of adjourning the meeting with none opposing.

https://cityofcentralia.org/vertical/sites/%7BFC680FE7-BE5C-4903-A103-67AF5EF51655%7D/uploads/11_-_November_14_2023_Minutes.pdf