Pool Petition Circulated Swim Gym Owners Ask Residents To Show Support For Purchase

Saving the only public pool in the area is important enough to one group of people that they’re collecting signatures on a petition urging the City of Post Falls to buy it.

The owners of the Swim Gym Aquatic Center in Post Falls, Kevin and Robin Bettis, told the Post Falls Parks and Recreation Commission in November that if the city doesn’t buy the pool, it would close within four months because it’s losing money.

They’re offering to sell the pool to the city for $400,000 - $330,000 less than its value, they said.

Saturday, members of the Post Falls Parks and Recreation Commission and Youth First will solicit signatures at the Super 1 Foods from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Tidyman’s grocery store from 9 a.m. to noon.

“They (swimmers) come from all over because it’s the only public pool in the area,” said Linda Seed, a signature gatherer and a member of Youth First, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving recreation opportunities for Post Falls kids. “It’s a great asset to our community.”

The petitions ask the city “to take the necessary steps to keep our community pool open, not only for all our children who swim with various swim teams, but also for senior citizens who exercise in the pool, lap swimmers, numerous recreational swimmers, and those who are just learning to swim.”

The signature gatherers also will ask people to fill out surveys about the pool, asking such questions as how often they use it and whether the city should purchase it.

SEEKING COMMENT At 7 p.m. Jan 26 in city hall, the Parks and Recreation Commission will seek public comment on whether the city should purchase the pool. At that meeting, the commission plans to determine what it will recommend to the city council regarding the pool. The regular meeting starts at 6 p.m.