The Bahama Village Development Advisory Committee voted to support staff’s application for a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant to renovate the Martin Luther King Jr. Pool.

Engineering Department project manager Keith Breen told the board the LWCF award has a maximum of $1,500,000 and requires a 50% local match. “What it is is that it is a maximum award of $1,500,000 with a 50 match,” Breen said, and staff intends to request the full award while providing documentation that the City can meet the local match.

Why it matters: the pool needs multiple repairs and some work — including drainage and mechanical fixes — became evident only after initial assessments, staff said. Breen described the application as extensive (roughly 100–120 pages) and noted an application deadline of Dec. 15; staff plans to submit on Dec. 12 and to attach board minutes and the required public meeting documentation to strengthen scoring.

Board members asked whether the City has sufficient match money. Breen said the original Capital Improvement Program included $1.5 million for the project and that finance staff are documenting available funds; one board member noted $1.169 million was currently shown in the account. Breen said staff has worked with finance to reconcile records so the City can demonstrate the required match.

Board members also pressed on flood risk and a front knee wall that has in the past allowed water to collect near the building. Breen said staff is exploring design changes — including removing a portion of the wall, adding drainage and incorporating flood panels at the primary entry — but cautioned that in extreme storm events “I can't promise that in a storm event…a heavy…it just sits there.”

A member of the public and commissioners urged the board to accept available grant funding when it becomes available. Commissioner Aaron Castillo, speaking during public comment, urged support for grant opportunities and criticized prolonged questioning of grant proposals, saying, “I hate the design of the MLK Pool…It looks like a toilet,” and urged the board to take funding when it is offered.

The board formally voted to support the LWCF application; the chair announced the motion approved and directed staff to proceed with the application process. The vote was recorded as in favor; no roll-call tally by name was provided in the transcript.

Next steps: staff will finalize the application with the grant writer, include the board’s supporting minutes and public meeting documentation, and submit before the Dec. 15 deadline. Breen estimated that, if awarded, funding would likely become available in fiscal year 2026 (staff’s working assumption was sometime in the third quarter of the fiscal cycle).