Can City Pool Be A Money Maker?

WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg city pool is a major operation of the city that drains revenue and the city council and mayor want to get some input on how to turn the cash cow into a money maker.

Last Wednesday night, City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe provided the council and mayor with a list of proposed ideas on how the city could cut costs for the pool. It currently costs about $20,000 to run the pool during the summers, Hinchliffe said.

Local pools in Prescott and Dayton don't have the same cost burdens for their cities because of dedicated parks and recreation districts that collect tax money from residents to help support their pools, Hinchliffe said. Waitsburg has a defunct parks and recreation district with about $1,000 in its bank account, he said.

As for ways to reduce costs, Hinchliffe said the city is considering cutting down the free swim lessons offered from two sessions to one to save on staff costs.

The Hevel Family in Waitsburg provides an endowment each year to pay for free swim lessons for all Waitsburg children who wish to enroll. Hinchliffe said any money left over gets to be used for other pool costs. Reducing employee costs could mean other pool aspects could get an increase in funding, he said.

Hinchliffe said the city will drop its family pass cost by $5 this year with the hope of increasing the sales of those passes. Also, he hopes more families will be renting out the pool on weekends for private events. It was suggested by council members the city advertise that opportunity more aggressively to make more money.

New councilman KC Kuykendall suggested bringing in a local food vendor to sell snacks near the pool and dividing the profits between the city and the vendor.

Kuykendall said he believes the city could really bring in some extra cash for the pool through the snack sales. To keep wrappers and other garbage out of the pool, the vendor could be located outside the pool area, he added.

Councilman Scott Nettles said he didn't know if it would be a good idea for the city to bring in a vendor to sell snacks when Waitsburg Grocery and local restaurants are just a block or two away.

Resident Larry Johnson, who attended the meeting on Wednesday, said he really wants to support the pool and would like to hold a fundraiser to bring in $10,000 to $15,000 so the city wouldn't bear as much of the cost.

But, he said he couldn't fathom taking on a fundraiser that large every year. He said if the city asked for help to fund the pool, citizens would step up.

"I think this is an issue people could get behind and support," Johnson said.

Mayor Walt Gobel asked that the community come forward with ideas as to how it could increase pool revenues. For those with questions, ideas or information, call City Hall at 509- 337-6371.