City envisions aquatic center
RATHDRUM – A citizens group concerned over the high number of drowning deaths in Idaho wants to build a public swimming pool and aquatics center in Rathdrum to teach more youngsters how to be safe around water.
“Idaho ranks third in drowning deaths, just behind Alaska and Hawaii – and both of those states are on the ocean,” said Liz Jones, spokeswoman for the newly formed Lakeland Aquatics Center.
Jones said she believes part of the reason why Idaho has such a high number of drownings is that many kids don’t know how to swim because swimming facilities are few and far between.
A swimming pool and aquatic center will help keep kids safer around the area’s bodies of water, be an asset to community development, and add to the economic development of the Rathdrum area, she said.
“We are just beginning our fundraising for feasibility studies,” said Jones. “That’s our next step.”
The group plans to hire pool designer Richard Scott, who has designed hundreds of community pools across the nation, to complete a report on the feasibility of the pool. Backers are also considering hiring a local architect for a feasibility study of how the project relates to the needs of the community.
Although the group will have to wait for these studies to be completed, some members envision much more than “just another YMCA pool,” according to Jones.
Jones would like to see a multipool complex that includes a competition pool, a diving well, a teaching pool, and two small therapy pools.
There are some small pools in the area, according to Jones, but none close by, and none that will support a statewide swimming meet. She said the pool planned for the Kroc Center has already received requests for practice time from Coeur d’Alene, Lake City and Post Falls high schools, leaving little, if any, practice time for other area schools. A pool at OZ Fitness in Coeur d’Alene, “is small and maxed out,” Jones said, and the closest place for our kids to join a swim team is in Liberty Lake.
Jones said her group believes the community could support an aquatics center that offers programs including swimming lessons, water aerobics, and one-on-one therapy. They see the center being used by Lakeland schools for exercise classes, deep water aerobics for sports training and as “home” to a swim team. They also see the ability to offer diving, kayaking, and scuba diving classes.
“Everyone agrees we need a pool, but we’re still trying to decide what form that should take,” Jones said.