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Committee reviews community center aquatics study, votes to forward to council
Summary
The Parks and Public Works Committee reviewed a consultant economic-impact study for a proposed community center and pool in Snoqualmie, discussed cost variants and funding, and voted unanimously to forward the update to council so the mayor can speak to it.
Speaker 3 provided a closing update on the proposed community center and pool project, saying the city hired a consultant to perform an economic impact analysis that used cell‑phone visitation data to estimate local effects. The consultant estimated the expansion would support "over 40 jobs directly tied to the expansion," about $5,300,000 in business revenues and roughly $2,200,000 in labor income retained in town, Speaker 3 said.
Speaker 3 said the pool design prioritizes swim lessons and described a standard six‑lane, 25‑yard high‑school competition pool with bleacher seating and a separate leisure pool; the YMCA discussed operating up to 9,600 swim lessons annually at the facility to address a shortage of lesson availability. Speaker 3 listed non‑pool items in the design (about $200,000 for administrative offices; about $1,500,000 for two fitness rooms; about $800,000 in interior revisions; roughly $108,000 for exterior sidewalks) and said a $1,000,000 King County grant previously awarded was spent entirely on design and is not available for construction.
On cost, Speaker 3 recited historical estimates, correcting a prior typo to say the original design year was 2024. The transcript lists a 2024 figure rendered as "29,000,005" and an escalated 2025 all‑in figure of about $31,000,000. Speaker 3 described alternatives: building only the competition pool would lower costs (transcript: ~ $26,030,000) and adding two lanes to make an eight‑lane competition pool would increase cost by about $1.4 million. The consultant provided an estimate that deferring construction of a leisure pool until 2028 would require about $6,000,000 at that later date.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about whether the totals included all YMCA requests, whether parking had been addressed and whether construction prices had been locked in. Speaker 3 replied designers judged existing parking and street parking sufficient and said the project had not been formally price‑locked. Speaker 4 emphasized the local business benefits, citing the splash pad's summer attendance and a projected "nearly a 170,000 annual visits" figure tied to the pool.
Speaker 5 raised concerns about relying on consultant estimates that are difficult to verify and urged caution on timing. Speaker 2 and Speaker 1 said sharing the study with the full council would allow other members to digest the information and provide additional perspective. Speaker 1 said many residents support a pool and moved that the committee forward the item to council so the mayor could address it; Speaker 2 seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Next steps: the committee agreed to put the consultant analysis and updated funding picture before the full council at the next council meeting for additional discussion and mayoral comment.
