BOULDER CITY – Boulder City has created a web page to keep residents educated regarding the current community pool/aquatic center and plans to either repair or replace it. Residents can learn about the City’s suggested process for financing, review plans for repair or replacement, and read minutes from previous Municipal Pool Committee meetings. The page can be accessed at www.bcnv.org/pool.
The current Boulder City pool is forty years old and has reached a critical point. In order to offer the programs that the community has come to appreciate, to keep up with current health code and to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, Mayor Kiernan McManus developed a Municipal Pool Ad hoc Committee to review alternatives regarding the repair or replacement of the municipal pool and advise the City Council of possible alternatives.
The Committee members voiced concerns that repair may not best of the community in the long-term and voted to pursue the pool replacement. They recommended that City Council approve what they determine is fiscally and structurally sound for the community. The City has a five-step savings plan for a new pool facility that is available that would not require any taxes to be raised.
During the June 2021 General Election, voters will be asked whether to approve Capital Improvement Fund expenditures for any swimming pool recreational project. Specifically, voters will decide whether to use the proceeds from the sale of Tract 350 (land next to Boulder Creek Golf Club), and a one-time appropriation of $7,000,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund consisting of revenue from things like solar leases toward a swimming pool recreational project. If approved, this money could be used to repair the existing pool facility or toward a new pool facility. Money in the Capital Improvement Fund that is not spent as approved by the voters may not be spent on any other cost without voter approval.
Voters defeated a ballot measure of up to $40 million for a new Aquatic Center in 2019. “We know how important the Community Pool is to Boulder City residents of all ages,” Mayor McManus said. “We felt it was important to look at options with scaled-back plans, and do more research on costs, needs and financing options. I believe the process involving the Ad hoc Committee over the past 18 months was in-depth and thorough.”
SCA Design assessed the condition of the existing pool facility, and estimated that it would cost approximately $7.37 million for design costs and to bring the current facility up to code. SCA Design also developed a conceptual design and cost estimate for a new community pool project, with an estimated cost of $21 million. Both concepts are on the City’s website.
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