Bainbridge Island Park District mulling options with pool renovation project

The Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park District is moving forward with a phased project to renovate the Ray Williamson Pool, located inside the aquatic center on Bainbridge Island School District's campus. With work set to begin this summer, a major question remains for park district commissioners: What's the complete scope of the project?

Two options are under consideration. The first option is essentially a two-phased renovation of the existing six-lane, 25-yard long pool and surrounding systems. The estimated cost of $5.5 million, which would be covered by a combination of park district reserves, capital improvement plan (CIP) funding, loans and fundraising, would extend the pool's life 20 to 50 years.

The second option being considered would include all the two-phased renovation upgrades, but would also see the pool expanded to eight lanes and adjusted to create uniform depth (up to 6.5 feet). The park district would need to move forward with a bond measure in the neighborhood of $10 million to help cover the estimated cost associated with the expansion. The bond, of course, would require 60% approval by Bainbridge Island voters.

Board commissioners Ken DeWitt, Tom Goodlin, Dawn Janow, Jay Kinney and Tom Swolgaard will continue to deliberate over the two options leading into its next meeting on April 18. Matthew Keough, a senior planner for the park district, told commissioners last month that results from a survey that asked community members and pool users for feedback on the two project options showed no consensus.

From a project standpoint, keeping a six-lane pool is more affordable, less time-consuming and less risky since the district wouldn't be replacing the existing pool tank. The deck space/spectator seating would also remain the same. Expanding the pool to eight lanes would extend the project cost and timeframe, reduce deck and seating areas, and add risk since removing the tank could reveal sub-surface issues. The benefit of the expansion would be increasing additional pool space/depth, which would allow for increased programming space. Keeping a six-lane pool wouldn't allow for growth in usage.

Janow told the Kitsap Sun that a final vote on the project is likely during the board's May 2 meeting. The reason May 2 is important, Janow explained, is if the board votes to approve the pool expansion option, there are fast-approaching bond resolution deadlines the park district would need to meet in order for the measure to be included during the Aug. 6 primary election.

The park district, which owns and operates the aquatic center under a lease with the school district, has considered the future of the 1970s-built Ray Williamson Pool for nearly a decade. Cost and feasibility studies in 2018-19 initially focused on an entirely new pool, potentially off-site, but skyrocketing construction figures ($30-50 million) combined with the COVID-19 pandemic led the board to reinvestigate renovation options.

In 2022, the park district hired Stemper Architects Collaborative to conduct a critical conditions assessment of the Ray Williamson Pool, which functions as the aquatic center's primary lap pool (the center's Don Nakata pool has four lanes, but focuses on recreation swimming and lessons) and is home for the high school swim/dive and water polo teams, the Bainbridge Island Swim Club and the Bainbridge Aquatic Masters team. The assessment revealed a scope of work requiring two phases of construction due to the property's high winter water table.

The first phase, planned to begin this summer and last through the spring of 2025, would concentrate on the most critical items: a low slope roof, repurposed locker rooms, concrete repairs, fire sprinkler pipe recoating, beam repair, electrical panel/LED lighting upgrades and HVAC replacement.

The second phase could see work begin in 2025 and would focus on work to the pool deck slab/linear drains, filtration system, chemical treatment system, seismic updates and liner coating. This phase would last up to 10 months if the existing six-lane pool is kept. If the pool expands to eight lanes, the phase would last up to 18 months.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Bainbridge Island Park District mulling options with pool renovation