Cover our Pool!

The entire community of Vashon would benefit from covering the outdoor pool from October to May, giving affordable, public access to:
o Family and open swim
o Lap and masters swimming
o Swim lessons for all ages
o Year-round community and private events
o Exercise classes
o Water safety and
o lifeguard certification classes

• An opportunity for all island schools to have aquatics classes and activities
• A regulation facility for competitive swimming – training and competition
• Possible addition of Vashon High School swim and water polo programs

The Vashon Parks District survey results show:

• Vashon Pool rated #1 relative to other deferred maintenance projects
• Vashon’s top three “wish list” items are (in order) permanent public restrooms, return of recreational programming and a covered pool. This proposal covers two out of the top three items.
• A study done in partnership with Friends of The Vashon Pool and the Parks Department found that an estimated 2,800 people would use a covered pool. That would make it the most used Parks Department facility on the island.
• Vashon wants the Parks Department to maintain what they currently own and operate. The Seals are offering to raise the capital funds needed for this project, providing an opportunity to rejuvenate and increase usage of a current facility.

A collaborative partnership with the Seals Swim Team benefits the entire island.

• Some of the most successful Parks projects have been spearheaded by user groups: The Jensen Pt. boat house, Paradise Ridge Equestrian Park, and the Burton Adventure Recreation Center.
• A window of opportunity is NOW
• This project would only represent between a 4 to 5 percent increase in the overall pool budget, and yet would be the most used Parks Dept. facility on the island.
• The bubble will be removed for the summer months.
• The bubble is a low-risk way to foster interest in and provide feasibility of a long-term permanent structure to cover Vashon Pool, such as the one included in the VPD survey.

Summary and Background: All engineering, permitting, and cost research has been completed to install a temporary cover over the Vashon Pool annually from October to May, and to provide adequate heat and ventilation to the covered pool to allow safe and comfortable public use. Vashon residents will benefit from increased aquatic fitness and recreational opportunities afforded by the year-round operation of Vashon Pool. This plan does not propose creating any new assessments to burden Vashon property owners. Financing of the project has been organized as a public-private venture through a creative collaboration with the Vashon Seals Swim Team raising the funds for the capital portion of the project, and Vashon Parks undertaking the operation. The Seals are an island Not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) youth sport organization for over 30 years.