As a user of the swimming pool I would like to thank the homeowners of the North Whidbey Parks and Recreation taxing district for building the pool, though I suspect many of those home- owners don’t use the pool. Now I believe user fees should cover the annual cost of maintenance and operation of the pool. The pool fee here is less than Anacortes charges. I know of people from the south end of Fidalgo Island who come use our pool because it is cheaper.
The pool doesn’t check to see if the user is out of our taxing district like Coupeville and Fidalgo in order to collect the increased out-of-district fee they are supposed to pay. The Navy has no recreational pool here like almost every other large Navy base so it is a significant savings for them to have the community pool for dependent lessons, kids open swim, lap swims and PRT training and testing. They should contribute at least one half this savings to the operations and maintenance of the pool.
There are too many people who use the pool for no fee. Parents of the pool staff have free use of the pool, even part-time summer life guard parents. The swim clubs have large blocks of time set aside for their exclusive use but also get free access to the pool at all other times. Some life guards give private lessons during lap swim time taking up at least one lane to make extra income but the guard doesn’t pay for their lane use and the pool doesn’t get part of their fee.
I propose charging an entrance fee equal to Anacortes’ user fee. Charging for each hour a person is occupying a swim lane during lap swim hours would increase pool income and individual access to less crowded swim lanes. Limit free use of the pool to employees, their spouse and children. Swim club annual fees pay for club membership and the exclusive scheduled lane pool time, individuals pay for other lap swim times. At check-in verify that non-tax district users of the pool are paying the extra user fee for not being in the levy district. The Navy should contribute a fair share of what it is saving by not having to build and maintain their own recreational and physical training pool. Pool employees should have to pay for use of pool for private income activities like private swim lessons. Also, ensuring everyone showers before getting in to the pool (I’ve observed less than half the swimmers shower now) would improve hygiene and may decrease chlorine use and cost.
Richard Fort
Oak Harbor
