There’s a waiting list for swim lessons in Gig Harbor. $46M would build a new pool
Gig Harbor moms Heather Maher and Sarah Stancikas have been campaigning for a public pool since 2021.
In March the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District finished crunching preliminary numbers. It’s still early, but the study the agency commissioned says a new $46 million aquatic center would pencil out.
“It’s no longer just us saying this,” Maher told the Gateway recently. “There’s now the research and data to show this need.”
Maher and Stancikas helped form the Swim Safe Gig Harbor group to campaign for a local public aquatics facility, the Gateway previously reported. The group’s Facebook page has more than 1,200 members.
The two women are also part of the aquatics steering committee that PenMet put together to give input for the study, which the PenMet Board of Commissioners reviewed at a meeting March 19.
“Everything in the study showed exactly what we have been saying the needs are,” Maher said.
The Gig Harbor area has five pools, the study said: Three that require some sort of membership (the YMCA, a country club, and a swim club) and two at the local high schools that limit public access.
The demand for a public pool is there, according to the study. The study was conducted by ARC Architects. The contract was for $87,596 to study the feasibility of a pool and the feasibility of a PenMet senior center.
“PenMet Parks’ population characteristics, income available for recreational pursuits, and recreational tendencies show that there is capacity to support a new Aquatic Center within PenMet District boundaries,” the study said.
The News Tribune asked to speak with the five PenMet commissioners and executive director Ally Bujacich about their takeaways from the study and what it means for potential next steps.
The commissioners did not respond.
Bujacich responded with an emailed statement that said in part: “Feasibility studies are a first step in developing public facilities, and there is more work to do to explore potential partnerships, service providers, and funding strategies for capital and ongoing operational costs. PenMet Parks looks forward to those conversations and will continue to be a collaborative community partner to enhance the quality of life by providing parks and recreation opportunities.”
Maher said the board will need to officially approve the aquatic center study in April and that accepting the study doesn’t mean the project is a done deal. Finding $46 million is no small task.
She said she thinks it’ll be a few years before there are construction plans.
It’s a long process, but she said the need is now.
“The dream is as soon as possible,” she said. “This is a safety need staring the community in the face.”
Could it be built next to the new Community Recreation Center?
Maher pointed out that, in addition to the outside study, PenMet’s recent Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan also identified public pools as a priority for residents.
The study done by ARC Architects recommended a site adjacent to the $31.6 million Community Recreation Center under construction at 2425 14th Ave. NW as a possibility for an aquatic facility.
The study estimated a new aquatic center would cost $46 million. That would include a 36,870-square-foot building on a 176,030-square-foot site with an indoor lap pool and recreation pool, a fitness room, a cafe, meeting rooms and other features — based on feedback from the steering committee and public input.
The study looked at multiple sites, including the former Peninsula Gardens nursery property at 5503 Wollochet Dr.
In the end the study recommended the CRC site and said one of the things that sets the CRC site apart is that it “has a greater potential for savings through shared infrastructure and shared operations by being adjacent to the CRC facility.”
Building it next to the new Community Recreation Center makes sense, Maher said.
“It just seems to be like two fitting puzzle pieces to say: ‘Let’s keep the conversation going about the aquatic center,’” she said.
‘A tremendous safety hazard’
The Swim Safe group has argued that swimming lessons need to be more accessible in Gig Harbor.
“It’s a tremendous safety hazard for our area,” Maher said.
A maritime city like Gig Harbor needs to prioritize water safety, she said.
“It’s been really hopeful being part of this process and seeing many different parts of our community coming together and talking about the need for water safety for our area,” she said. “It really showed the best of Gig Harbor, I think.”
The YMCA and other local organizations have a waiting list.
“Last session, which ran from Feb. 19 to March 23, the Tom Taylor Family YMCA served 1,091 children out of 1,135 offerings, with 88 waitlisted participants,” Jyot Sandhu, external communications manager for the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, told the Gateway in an email March 28.
Some of those waitlisted might have been looking for specific times that were already full, Sandhu wrote.
What would an adjoining senior center cost?
The PenMet board also reviewed a related feasibility study March 19 from ARC Architects about what it would take to build a dedicated space for seniors in the area.
Like the aquatics center, the study recommended the CRC site as a possible location for a senior center.
The total estimated project cost for a standalone senior center at the site is about $16 million, the study said. Building it onto the aquatic center would be something like $5.5 million.
“In co-joining the Community Senior Center to the potential Community Aquatic and Recreation Center, some concerns were raised for the potential for traffic congestion at the CRC site,” the study said.
PenMet should have a transportation engineer, among other consultants, do further examination, according to the study.
“Other next steps include further evaluating potential partnerships and alternative service providers and identifying capital and operational funding strategies,” the study said.
Editor’s note: An initial version of this story said PenMet’s 2022 capital budget allocated $105,000 for the study. The contract with ARC Architects was for $87,596.
This story was originally published March 29, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
