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North Bend council readies November ballot language, steering committee to shore up municipal pool
Summary
With the pool levy expired and roughly 12–18 months of reserve left, councilors asked staff to prepare November ballot language and form a regional steering committee while exploring a YMCA management partnership, a parks-and-recreation district, and a levy renewal.
The North Bend City Council on June 8 signaled near-consensus to prepare ballot language for a November pool levy and to form a regional steering committee to explore management and governance alternatives for the North Bend Municipal Pool.
The finance director told the council the pool levy has expired and the city has roughly 12 to 18 months of fund balance remaining. “Those would be losses with just fees in operation. For instance, $106,000 in 2023, $289,000 in 2024, $442,000 in 2025, and year to date, we’re at $362,000,” the finance director said, underscoring the scale of operating shortfalls without a dedicated levy.
Councilors and staff discussed three primary paths forward: pursue a management partnership with an organization such as a YMCA that could staff and operate the facility under a rental or management contract; pursue formation of a regional parks and recreation district to provide stable, long‑term funding and governance; or reauthorize a local operating levy. Staff characterized a parks-and-recreation district as the most durable long-term solution but noted it would require regional cooperation and time to form.
Councilors emphasized a layered approach. Several members said they wanted staff to simultaneously explore partnerships and district formation while preparing a ballot measure as a short-term backstop. One councilor suggested adjusting nonresident user fees to reduce the subsidy from local taxpayers; staff said charter restrictions and fee-setting implications would require legal review.
The city attorney, Mr. Wolf, advised the council that charter provisions could affect the ability to change fees and that staff would review any constraints if the council directed them to pursue specific options. Staff also noted contracts with major institutional users (the college, high school teams and Coast Guard users) appear to be renegotiated on 12-month cycles.
Council members stressed the pool’s regional value — swim meets, college and school swim teams — and discussed operational short-term steps such as reducing open hours to lower temporary staffing costs while longer-term arrangements are pursued.
Next steps: staff said it will return within the typical two‑week cycle with draft ballot language for council review and a proposed process to form a steering committee that would include regional stakeholders. No formal vote was taken; the council provided direction to develop materials and timelines for upcoming meetings.
