Rebecca Nappi: Small-town pools a lesson to Spokane
The municipal pool in Kellogg, Idaho, was built in 1963, paid for by the Bunker Hill mine, which heated the pool through the smelter’s insulated steam pipes. In the early 1980s, after Bunker Hill left town, city officials did not take the town’s economic depression out on its children. They kept the pool open, despite the high cost.
I swam in Kellogg’s spacious pool recently as part of a continuing quest to swim in all small-town pools within 90 minutes of Spokane. It’s a subtle way to shame big-town Spokane into figuring out its pool mess — five aging pools and no year-round indoor pool now that Shadle has closed. City officials and citizens are working on the challenge, true, but in the meantime, I’m swimming elsewhere. Municipal pools reflect a community’s current health and provide a glimpse into the community’s future. Idaho’s Silver Valley, just an hour or so east of Spokane on Interstate 90, is in the middle of an enormous transformation. The pools tell part of the story.
“Kellogg’s municipal pool rests beneath the old Lincoln School, slated to become condominiums. Condos are everywhere. Stand on the balcony of a Silver Mountain condo and you’ll see a construction zone that looks like a science-fiction movie set. It’s massive. Jeld-Wen Communities, the company that owns Silver Mountain Resort, is building a 42,000-square foot indoor water park, scheduled to open this winter. It will feature the usual water park amenities, plus a surf pool and a bar where grandparents can enjoy a drink while watching the grandkids splash and surf as the parents ski, hike, golf or bike in the region’s recreational area.
Silver Mountain is the prime mover behind an ongoing effort to transform the former mining town and Superfund site into the next big destination resort catering to multi-generational vacationers from all over the world.
Kellogg hasn’t hit Sun Valley or Aspen status — yet. Jamie Sharp, who worked for Bunker Hill for 26 years, is now the town’s public works superintendent. In addition to many other jobs, he oversees the pool each summer. He can’t believe how old homes, once lived in by miners, are now decked out as pricey rental “chalets.” Or all the historic buildings that are in transition to trendy condos.
“One of those guys who makes $7 million a picture … the minute one of them buys, it will pop,” he said.
The town will always need its municipal pool. The water park will likely be available only to resort guests, but Silver Mountain could take a page from Kellogg’s Bunker Hill past and help support the town’s pool. The heating bill alone comes to $4,000 each summer.
“Wallace is about 10 miles up I-90 from Kellogg. It doesn’t have the same boomy feel, but things are happening here, too. The day I swam in the town pool, two tour buses disgorged dozens of visitors. The pool, built in 1939 with Depression-era money, is a classic beauty.
“People come here from Montana and Coeur d’Alene just for lessons,” said pool manager Bob Schreiber.
For tips on how to revive Spokane pools, people here could consult with Joe Grismer, a 72-year-old Wallace native and retired psychiatrist who returned home 11 years ago and has written more than $200,000 in grants to upgrade the pool. In 2004, he gathered together “alums” who swam in the Wallace pool as children, and they contributed $4,000 during a fundraising party.
“Pools and parks are the lifeblood of the community,” said Mayor Ron Garitone. “They would be the last things to go.”
“ Mullan is a just a short drive away from Kellogg and Wallace, but the boom has not traveled there in any obvious way. The town has the sad feel of a place still grieving for the past. Yet Mullan boasts an indoor Olympic-size pool, open year-round, built in the 1960s with the help of the Lucky Friday Mine. Mullan School District now supports it, and the pool building is the nicest structure in town. Dawn McKinnon, pool manager, trains lifeguards throughout the Silver Valley.
When the water park at Silver Mountain is completed, McKinnon’s expertise might be needed. Silver Mountain expects to hire about 40 lifeguards. And some of them will need affordable housing. Seems like there’s plenty of that in Mullan.
The Silver Valley, folks, is coming alive again. Swim its pools this blazing hot summer and see for yourself.