Parks head proposes closing county pool

Spokane County’s Holmberg swimming pool would close indefinitely under a plan presented to commissioners today. Parks Director Doug Chase said the pool at 9615 N. Wall St. was little used this year and needs major repairs to operate safely. “The bottom is falling apart,” Chase said. “It’s literally coming up in chunks and pieces.” Crumbling cement has exposed a pipe that needs to be replaced, he said. The repairs are estimated to cost $93,500 to $113,500, but the pool had only 6,837 visits this summer – mostly for swimming lessons. Holmberg attendance was down 33 percent from last year, reflecting what Chase said is a worrisome trend at all the county’s aquatics centers. Heavily subsidized admission prices at Spokane municipal pools – $1 for kids, $2 for adults – “are killing us,” Chase told commissioners. He proposes to reduce prices at the county’s Northside and Southside aquatics centers from $6 to $4 next year for users 6 and older, and from $3 to $2 for children 3 to 5. Younger children swim free. Chase also proposed a 139-foot, $200,000 water slide at the Northside aquatics center, 18120 N. Hatch Road, to make it competitive with Spokane’s newly renovated pools. The Southside center, at 3724 E. 61st Ave., already has a slide.