Help us save Chinook City Pool and Sweet Park

To the community members of Chinook and the surrounding areas,

We are writing today regarding the Friends of the Pool and Park Foundation and our efforts to improve the Chinook Pool and Sweet Park. We feel that there is some inaccurate information floating around and we would like to clarify some confusion that may be happening.

As you may know, the Friends of the Pool and Park Foundation is asking that a bond request be placed on the ballot for the taxpayers in the proposed recreation district to vote on in Blaine County. As with a new proposal of this nature, there are many questions about how it will work and how it will affect individual taxpayers. We would like to take this opportunity to explain the details about this proposal.

Our nonprofit organization was formed just 15 short months ago, and we have been very active in fundraising to help with repair costs to the Chinook Pool and Sweet Park. Both facilities are very near and dear to our hearts, as we are sure they are to yours. Anyone who has grown up here or lives in Chinook knows the importance of these facilities and how integral they are to our community, especially for the area youth. Since we formed, our board of directors was raised over $85,000, and we are truly humbled by the generosity of the community and local organizations and businesses.

We are going to cut to the chase. The pool is going to be a problem in the near future if something isn’t done to fix it. The Chinook Pool was built in 1976 and is 46 years old, long surpassing the life expectancy of an outdoor pool, especially with the harsh winters we see on the Hi-Line. We encourage you to go to our website or Facebook page to see some photos of its condition. It may surprise you if you haven’t been there recently.

The city of Chinook should be commended for maintaining it as well as it has been for the past 46 years, but, unfortunately, there was no money set aside for the major repair work that is now required. As unfortunate as it is, nothing can be done about the fact that there was no money set aside to repair it. We are looking to change that so it doesn’t happen again.

In 2021, our organization hired a professional engineer to evaluate the pool and park, and our engineer believes the pool has started to leak, which is the beginning phase of failure. The engineer that we have hired has been involved in many community pool projects in Montana and the surrounding states, so to say they know what they are doing is an understatement; they are very knowledgeable in pools, specifically.

Our engineer estimated that repairs to the pool, gutter, liner, deck, pool house and mechanical systems are to be approximately $1.55 million. This is a big number, we realize that; however, if the community chooses to let the pool fail, the complete replacement of the pool itself could cost up to $3.2 million, just to replace the pool itself, not taking into account any decking issues, pool house issues, mechanical issues and more. Obviously, it is much more cost-effective for the community to repair what is there now versus replacing it in the future. The longer we wait, the more costs will increase due to additional repairs needed and inflation.

Our goal as an organization is to fundraise in perpetuity for the pool and park; however, at the rate we have been raising money, it will take us nearly 18 years to raise enough money to repair just the pool issues alone. This does not factor in the cost of inflation over the years.

Our only hope is for the community to rally together and pass a bond. We need the community’s help through donations and through this bond. Communities of similar size to ours across the state of Montana are experiencing this exact same problem with their pools, and nearly all of them have passed a bond to fund the repair work.

We are seeking a resolution to be passed by the Blaine County commissioners to create a recreation district, with an associated $1 million bond to be placed on the ballot for the community to vote on. Unfortunately, there is a group of individuals who are trying to stop our efforts. We feel strongly that the final decision as to whether or not we pass a bond for this project should be up to the taxpayers as a whole, not just a small fraction of the community. As such, we are asking for your support in encouraging the Blaine County commissioners to place this on the ballot for a vote by the entire community.

Originally intended for $2 million, the bond would have repaired the pool issues, decking, gutters, pool house and mechanical issues as well as fixing the park drainage issues and replacing the playground equipment. However, due to some issues in the way the bond was originally calculated, through the number of homes and information that was provided to us, we have lowered the bond request to $1 million to be used for the pool issues specifically alone. None of the fun items — splash deck or slides — were included in the bond proposal at any time throughout our endeavor. Our organization plans to fundraise for those items and add them on, later on down the road, as our fundraising efforts continue and only after the important repairs to the pool and park are addressed.

But what about grants?

Unfortunately, there are only two grants available for pools in the state of Montana and the maximum amount for those grands is approximately $350,000 combined, both of which require a match, and both grants would have to be used within 16-18 months of being awarded. We wish we could apply for these, but we simply cannot until we have the matching funds to do so, and we also cannot start construction until we have enough funding for the entire $1.55 million of the project, due to the way that the new liner and gutter will be installed, which requires tearing up the decking at the same time. As you can see, our hands are tied unless we can raise the full $1.55 million.

The question has been raised, “But why can’t the community just fundraise for this?” The answer is that we can, however, it will take decades to raise that amount of money through fundraisers alone, and the cost will increase each year that we wait, thus costing the community even more.

Should the community choose to let the Chinook pool fail, the likeliness of it ever being replaced is extremely slim. If you love the Chinook pool as much as we do, and as much as the local youth do, please contact your commissioners and ask them to vote for the passing of the new resolution so it can be included on the ballot to be voted on. The updated information of the proposed resolution, after clarification from the Montana Department of Revenue, will be a “per-dwelling tax“ which includes dwellings, mobile homes and commercial businesses.

The question has also come up, “But what if Chinook’s population declines, then how will we pay back the bond?” Since the proposed tax is a per-dwelling unit,” the likeliness of homes not being owned by someone, whether or not they are occupied, is slight. Therefore, the bond amount should’t change and should be approximately $51.66 a year for 20 years per dwelling unit. If you own a home in Chinook, the cost per home over the course of 20 years is $1,033.20. Will you consider putting $51.66 a year, $4.31 per month, back into the community for the children? Will you consider protecting the investment of your parents and grandparents when it was originally installed in 1976?

Again, if you love the Chinook pool, please reach out to the Blaine County commissioners and explain to them why you feel this is so important for the community of Chinook and the future of the families that live here. We believe the commissioners need to allow this to be on the ballot and let it be decided by the vote of the people, their constituents.

We also encourage everyone in the area to reach out to any of our board members personally. We would be very happy to discuss concerns, questions, issues, etc., regardless of whether or not you support the project. Let’s all collaborate and come up with a solution to help keep the pool functioning. Please join us in supporting this project and funding the repair of these treasured community facilities for the benefit of generations to come!

——

Friends of the Pool Foundation Board

Heather DePriest

Jill Paulsen

Julianne Snedigar

Jessica Aberg

Kathy Radovich

Shelby Nemetz

Kelsey Harry

Heather Huravitch

Learn more about the project at http://www.chinookfriends.org.