Othello pool construction bond failing

OTHELLO — The fate of the Othello Community Pool, whether it will reopen and if so, how soon, will be in the hands of new Mayor Ken Johnson and a new Othello City Council. Johnson and the new council members will take office in January. 

“The pool bond appears to need to go back to the drawing board,” said Othello Mayor Shawn Logan on Monday. 

The measure has a simple majority casting ballots in favor of the measure, but requires that at least 60% of voters approve it. In unofficial results, the $3.55 million construction bond request had 478 yes votes, or 54.88%, and 393 no votes, or 45.12%. Because it’s a revenue measure, the bond requires a 60% yes vote to pass. About 30 votes were left to count as of Wednesday.  

The city has a $116,000 contract with NAC Architecture & Trinity NAC, Spokane, for work on the pool, which was closed in spring 2024 after substantial damage was discovered. Logan said the architects have spent about $84,000 of that to date.  

“That leaves approximately $32,000 still in the budget that would be carried over into next year. The new council and mayor are going to need to create a new committee and begin to explore what the community will vote for,” Logan said.  

Johnson is leading in his race against Logan, and Kelli Camp is leading incumbent Genna Dorow in the race for one of the council seats. Two incumbent council members didn’t file for reelection, and council member Denae Valdez resigned in October. 

The original pool committee, appointed after the damage was discovered, came up with four options for repair or replacement. Committee members submitted the options to the community over the summer for residents’ reaction. 

The options included a more elaborate project with the possibility of two pools, one indoor and one outdoor, and a meeting and event space. Another option would’ve paid to repair only the known damage. After extensive discussion, council members voted to fix the existing damage and replace all the piping, along with mechanical and electrical upgrades. 

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