Othello pool bond headed to Nov. ballot

OTHELLO — Othello residents will be asked to approve or reject a $3.55 million construction bond to make repairs and upgrades to the Othello Community Pool. The bond will be on the ballot in the Nov. 4 general election. The unanimous decision from the Othello City Council came after a lengthy discussion of the options.  

“I don’t think this is a very easy decision,” said Chris Dorow, the chair of a committee tasked with looking at the options.  

If it’s approved, the bond would pay for repairing broken components discovered in spring 2024, which caused the pool to be closed for the year, a closure that’s extended to 2025. The money would pay to replace other components that could be at risk of breakage, and to upgrade the pool’s mechanical and electrical systems.  

The bonds would have a 20-year payback provision.  

Brooke Hanley, architect with NAC Architects, Spokane, said the committee came up with four options. Council members opted for repairing the existing pool, which could allow the pool to reopen for all or part of summer 2026. Mayor Shawn Logan suggested breaking the project into two parts if the bond passes.  

“We could do the underground work the first year to get it open, and then next year in the fall, we could complete the mechanical portion of it,” Logan said.  

Council members also had the option of repairing the broken sections, which increased the chances of opening in 2026. But Dorow cautioned that pthe articular option opened the city to the risk that other components could break.  

The damage to the pool was discovered after then-Public Works Director Curt Carpenter noticed a severe leak. His investigation determined the pool had been poorly constructed, which led to the damage. Dorow said that led to delays.  

“This process took a whole lot longer than I ever thought it would. But I also want to say there was a good reason for that,” Dorow said. “Why did this take so long? First, we had to get an insurance ruling (and) you can’t tear down the pool or tear it apart until the insurance (carrier) has had an opportunity to review that.” 

The city insurers ruled the damage did not qualify for a payout under the city’s policy, a ruling which the city appealed, but the insurers denied. 

“We also considered but ultimately ruled out litigation, which also required us to leave the pool as is to go through that process,” Dorow said.  

Council members were unwilling to opt for fixing just the known damage, a project estimated at $2.2 million. 

“What concerns me is if we spend the $2.2 million, and we’re going to have old pipes in there, and the committee (knows) those pipes were not laid out right,” said council member Angel Garza. “So, are we going to spend $2.2 million and leave those old pipes in there?” 

Council member Darryl Barnes said he didn’t think that was a good use of the residents’ money.  

“If we’re going to be good stewards of tax dollars, it would be wise, while the pool is drained (and) excavated, to replace all the piping so we can get another 20-30 years out of it. It makes no sense to do a patch job,” Barnes said. “We should face it right now, go to the voters and say, ‘Hey, this is what we need to do.’”  

The second option was repairing the existing damage and replacing all the piping. That option, which the council eventually selected, also includes mechanical and electrical upgrades.  

Other options included a more elaborate project, with the possibility of two pools, one indoor and one outdoor. Those did not come up for discussion. 

City officials had a display of the options at Othello’s July 4 celebration, and the option of a new facility with an indoor and outdoor pool generated the most interest. An all-new facility was the majority choice of participants in an online survey. The July 4 booth and the online survey had about 129 people voting, Hanley said.  

The cost of an all-new indoor-outdoor facility was estimated at $22 million, with a tentative completion date of 2028. 

Council members rejected a suggestion that the city issue limited general obligation bonds, known as “councilmanic” bonds, to pay for the project.  

    Chris Dorow, chair of a committee tasked with looking at options for the Othello pool, gives his report to Othello City Council Monday.