Aquatics community looks to city of Bonney Lake for answers about future pool

The location of a new pool was on the minds of parents, students and other members of the aquatics community at the Bonney Lake City Council meeting on Jan. 23.

At the meeting, Emily Terrell, mother of Sumner High School swim team student Corbin Terrell, asked the council to begin seeking funding for the future Midtown Park in Bonney Lake, which could serve as the location of a new aquatics center.

“We understand that right now the comprehensive plan does not include an indoor or outdoor pool,” Terrell said. “We would ask if the city would please amend the comprehensive plan and the associated capital facilities improvements plans to include a WCIAA compliance swim and dive aquatics facility at the Midtown Park. We’d also ask that the city begin that planning process now.”

Terrell first heard about the closing of the Sumner High School pool last year. The closure sparked concern from her and fellow parents and students.

More than 1,000 signatures were gathered over several months for a petition to keep the pool open.

“When we heard that the pool would close we began working with the school district and trying to find ways to keep that pool open...This is a dedicated group of parents and citizens who are really impassioned about keeping the aquatics program for our kids and for our community,” Terrell said.

The pool, originally built in the 1960s, closed to the public in 2011. Over the years, operating costs soared for the district, and it was decided the pool would be removed when a voter-approved $146 million Capital Projects bond passed in 2016. Additional parking spaces will replace the pool.

After meeting with the community, the district decided to keep the pool operational through the 2018-2019 school year. The district also pledged $6 million to build a pool in Bonney Lake.

“The school board has allowed the district into a partnership with the city of Bonney Lake…We’re excited for the opportunity to partner with (them),” Sumner School District communications director Elle Warmuth said.

Midtown Park was identified as a possible location to build a new pool. Located south of state Route 410 and north of South Prairie Road, the city acquired the 40-acre property in 2010.

And while it’s not likely a pool would be ready by the end of the 2018-2019 school year, Terrell said it’s the best bet for the aquatics program. She asked the Bonney Lake City Council to revisit bonds and other funding opportunities.

“We would like to preserve the ability to have a pool here in Bonney Lake,” she said.

She wasn’t alone. Sumner High School senior and swim team diver Rafael Rodriguez told the council what the pool meant to him.

“When I step back I just remember how much I love the atmosphere that the pool brings and the atmosphere’s built by nothing more than our closest friends and the most motivational and inspiring coaches,” Rodriguez said at the meeting. “It’s difficult to imagine that it could all be gone because all my most impactful relationships have been led back to the pool.”

Rodriguez, bound for the University of Arizona next year to swim, hopes that new students will get the same opportunities he had when it comes to swimming.

“It absolutely breaks my heart to think about the incoming years could be full of kids that don’t have the chance to live the unforgettable experiences this pool has offered me...Losing the pool it isn’t just the loss of a pool it’s a lost of opportunities and loss of a home,” Rodriguez said.

The district is aware of other pool options in neighboring communities that would be available to serve the aquatics program when the 2019 school year is up and the pool becomes unavailable, Warmuth said. When the time comes, they will review those options.

For now, the city of Bonney Lake and the Sumner School District plan to work together to find a solution. At the end of the day, it comes down to available funding, but Bonney Lake Mayor Neil Johnson hopes to know where the council sits on the issue in the next several months.

“My goal is to find a solution for it,” Johnson said. “I think (a Bonney Lake pool) would be a great asset.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2018 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Aquatics community looks to city of Bonney Lake for answers about future pool."