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Soldotna swim club urges hybrid funding, cites community willingness to pay to keep high‑school pool open
Summary
Representatives of the Soldotna swim community told the council they ran a local survey (57 responses) and found strong user support for higher fees and expanded programming; they recommended a hybrid model combining municipal support, grants and program revenue to sustain the pool.
Maureen Todd, a teacher who said she represents the Soldotna Silver Salmon swim team, and Stephanie Snyder, a head coach, told the council the Soldotna High School pool hosts PE classes, special‑education programming, a high‑school swim team and community programs, and that current programming and limited summer openings reduce revenue potential.
Todd and Snyder presented usage and revenue data for SoHi: the high‑school team pays roughly $2,700 for a season to use the pool; the Silver Salmon team pays about $1,900 per month and the club estimated about $13,000 in seasonal revenue for the team. They said the SoHi pool has been closed each summer since 2015 except for one summer (2023–24) when it was open while another pool was under renovation, and that summer openings drive swim‑lesson revenues.
The presenters said they conducted a stakeholder survey with 57 respondents; Todd said the results showed 94% of respondents were willing to pay more to retain pool services and that 56% of local respondents learned to swim at SoHi through school PE. They urged a hybrid funding approach — a mix of municipal tax revenue, state and federal grants, program fees, sponsorships and stronger marketing to expand programming and revenue — and pointed to examples in other Alaska communities that combine municipal support with robust programming.
Why it matters: The swim community argued that increasing programming, running summer lessons and marketing hours could substantially increase user revenues while grants and municipal contributions could stabilize operations. They also noted staffing limitations (lifeguard training and availability) and aging infrastructure as obstacles to scale.
The presenters offered practical steps: expand programming hours, pursue grants and sponsorships, consider nonprofit partnership status to qualify for funding, and pilot more consistent summer scheduling to rebuild usage and revenue. They left slide materials and survey links for council and borough staff to review.
