Kenai residents urge city to help keep Kenai Central High School pool open

Dozens of Kenai residents told the Kenai City Council on July 2 that the Kenai Central High School pool serves as a public-safety and community-health resource and urged city leaders to help prevent its closure if the school district discontinues pool manager positions after next year. Speakers asked the council to begin talks with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and consider a formal resolution supporting the pools.

The appeals began during unscheduled public comment with Sarah Castemore, a parent of students who use district pools, who recapped the recent district budget deliberations that briefly removed five pool‑manager positions and then restored them at a June 26 finance committee meeting for one additional year. “This gives us time to find a solution,” Castemore said, and she urged the city to engage now so communities are not left scrambling if the district declines to renew contracts next summer.

Pool manager William Hubler, who said he has run the Kenai Central pool since 1990, described programs that rely on the facility: more than 500 swim‑lesson registrations this summer, a high‑school swim team of about 30 students, a Peninsula Piranhas age‑group program of 85–110 swimmers, masters swim for adults, lifeguard trainings, therapy use and community events. Hubler said the pool’s operating account (account 710) covers lifeguards, chemicals and some equipment and that he has kept the account “in the black” during his tenure. He asked the council to “be aware” and to help the community find a path forward if the district stops contracting pool managers after June 30 next year.

Dan Casemore, a Kenai resident who also learned to swim at the pool, urged the city to consider running or subsidizing pools, noting other Alaska municipalities operate pools in school facilities. “When we look around the city at recreational facilities… they typically cost money to taxpayers,” he said, but added pools yield public‑health and community benefits and suggested the council pass a resolution supporting the pools and open a dialogue with the district.

Students and staff also described impacts on athletes, tourism and safety. Emma Castemore, a Kenai High sophomore, and Abigail Price, a competitive swimmer and pool employee, said losing the pool would harm scholarship opportunities and local swim competitions that bring hundreds of visitors during low tourism months. Eleven‑year‑old Annie Price described learning to swim at the pool and said pools provide life‑saving skills: “Pools where kids learn can be safe.” Michael Christian, a long‑time resident, stressed that pools provide rehabilitation and daily exercise for older residents.

Council members asked questions about costs. Council member Casena asked Hubler if he could estimate an operating budget; Hubler said the pool’s account pays for chemicals and lifeguards while utilities, the pool manager’s pay and custodial hours are covered elsewhere and that he could provide a budget on request. Vice Mayor Knackstedt and other councilors suggested community groups coordinate with the borough and the district and encouraged continued engagement.

City Manager Eubank later told council that the school district’s planning and operations manager, Kevin Lyons, had reached out to the city about possible municipal interest in operating or supporting the Kenai Central pool. Eubank said the city requested a formal proposal from the district so staff can evaluate options and will report back if it receives one.

Why it matters: speakers framed the pool as both a public‑safety resource in a state with high drowning rates and as a local economic driver when meets bring hundreds of visitors. Residents asked the council to begin planning now rather than wait until the district’s contract decisions make transitions difficult.

The council took no formal action at the July 2 meeting; members thanked speakers and asked staff to stay engaged with the district as a possible next step.