Ballots going out on bond for Chinook pool and park

Ballots are being mailed out to Blaine County property owners in a mail election to vote on creating a bond to fund repairs and improvements on the city pool and its Sweet Park.

A release from Friends of the Pool and Park Foundation said they have had massive support in their efforts to fund repairs and improvements to the Chinook Community Pool and Sweet Park, but are still far short of what they need to match funding for a $1 million grant for which they want to apply, and are looking for support from the community to pass a bond to make up the difference.

"We understand that times are tough, and taxes are not fun," the members of the foundation said in the release. "We just ask that the community think about the future benefit of passing the Recreation District Bond and the cost it could save the community by doing this now versus waiting. Should we wait, our engineer states that with today's costs, we would be looking at over $3 million dollars to fully replace the pool should it completely fail."

Decades of enjoyment and benefits

The release said the outdoor pool has provided an enormous amount of enjoyment and benefits in its five decades of operation.

The release said that more than 5,700 individual visits to the pool occurred in 2021, many of which were from out of the area.

"It's quite interesting to see how many people come from afar to our quaint town to enjoy our wonderful outdoor pool," foundation board member Jill Paulsen said in the release. "Once this project is fully completed, it will be a definite draw for people to visit Chinook or even opt to move here. Next to housing prices and school districts, neighborhood amenities are the third-largest reason a family chooses to move to a community."

Swimming lessons are also an important reason for keeping our pool maintained, the release said. 

"It takes an average of 52 lessons for a child to become a competent swimmer," Paulsen said in the release. "Learning how to swim takes time, consistency and plenty of practice, something that we feel is so important for the children of the community to learn. Should the pool fail, children would not be able to swim in a safe environment, let alone learn how to swim properly. Swimming is an important part of our community, and it shows with our powerhouse swim team that holds the 2022 ... State Championship title."

An aging facility

The Chinook Pool was built in 1976 and is now 47 years old, the release said. In that time, the pool has seen significant deterioration, and it has been experiencing issues that will lead to larger, more expensive problems in the future if repairs are not made soon.

The Friends of the Pool hired a professional engineer who specializes in pools to come and look at the facility and prepare a report, the release added. Upon his visit, he determined that the pool has started to leak based upon the information provided by the City of Chinook. His analysis was based on how often water must be added to the pool throughout the summer. With calculations, the pool filling has exceeded regular evaporation; therefore, he believes that it has started to leak.

The plans also are to repair and upgrade Sweet Park in Chinook. When it rains heavily, the park often floods due to drainage issues and a large portion of the playground equipment has been removed for safety reasons, the release said. 

Within the report is a breakdown from the engineer on the cost to repair the pool and park as well as the additional amenities that the organization plans to incorporate in the future through continual fundraising. The repairs to the pool alone are slated at $1,550,000. This stated figure does not include the Splash Pad or Water Slides concepts that are proposed. The proposed bond will only pay for the repairs to the pool. The repairs to the park are slated at $380,000 on top of the $1.5 million for the pool. 

A request for funding

The organization is asking the community to pass a bond for $750,000 to enable them to apply for a $1 million grant through the Montana Land Water Conservation Fund, which is due this spring and is only offered every three-plus years. Unfortunately, there are very few large grants available for pools, but the organization believes Chinook to be a strong contender for this specific grant. As with most grants, they must match it $1 for $1, meaning if the grant requests $1 million, there has to be a million first to match.

The foundation is is $50,000 shy of their $250,000 needed to be included in the match should the bond pass. However, Jeff Ament, guitarist from the band Pearl Jam and originally from Big Sandy, has made a pledge to put a skate park in Chinook with the help of the Lions Club. That now puts the foundation over the needed amount to apply, should the bond get passed.

Friends of the Pool and Park want to thank the community for supporting their efforts thus far, as they have received several large anonymous donations recently, putting them over $200,000 raised, the release added.

"In 30 months, the nonprofit has now raised over $200,000," the release said. "And when you do the math, that is an astounding $6,600 a month. However, the committee has a long way to go to fix the pool and park."

The foundation said the bond request is for all taxpayers in the Recreation District that own a home, mobile home, or business. The proposed tax is less than $50 per year and the ballots are due back on Feb. 14. Farmers and Ranchers in the Recreation District will only pay per home not per tax-bill.

People who would like to know what their potential assessment may be can contact the Blaine County Treasurer at 406-357-3280.

The release added that for people who are on fixed incomes, a program called the Property Tax Assistance Program exists that is available to apply for,

"We have been told it is under-utilized here; it could be a definite help for those that believe that the pool is important but may not have financial means to support the additional $50 per year," the release said.

More information is available on the state website at https://montana.servicenowservices.com/citizen/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0013223&fbclid=IwAR17RBoYB8G9wyRpIA-kkMRn6QSCU3qANRc3LTJyeO9AHqdk_fnFgsPYKmo or you can visit http://www.chinookfriends.org and there is a link to the website above. 

After a well-attended public meeting Oct. 11, the Blaine County Commission Oct. 21 unanimously approved the creation of the recreation district.

The foundation has been asked why there was a need to create a Recreation District to impose a bond, and the reason is because it includes voters in the Chinook School District areas. Most communities have a Recreation District as well as a Parks and Recreation Department; however, Chinook has neither. This enables the organization to ask the community to pass the bond to complete their goals of saving the Chinook Pool and Park.

The reason the recreation district and the bond includes the Chinook School Districts and not just Chinook is because those homes within the area would be the ones likely to utilize the park and pool facilities.  

"We felt that it wasn't fair to just include the people that live inside the city limits in the tax," the release said. The people that live on the opposite side of the Dike Road and those that live on Stockyard Road, those that live outside of town, would not have been included. Therefore, we felt that those that go to school here would be a better fit for the tax, making it more affordable for everyone in the community as well."

One of foundation's most paramount principals is the transparency of funds, the release said.

"We want people to know their hard-earned dollars given through donations go completely towards this project as a whole and the bond will only be used for the repairs to the pool itself," Foundation Treasurer Jessica Aberg said. "These funds mean so much to the foundation and they are beyond grateful for every cent that has been donated to the project thus far. We want the community to know where their fundraising dollars are going and we welcome the community to come to a meeting and look at our Profit and Loss statements."

Should the bond pass, a Recreation District Board with appointed members will oversee the bond income and expenditures.  

The foundation encouraged people to reach out with questions to foundation members, which includes Julianne Snedigar, Heather DePriest, Shelby Nemetz, Kelsey Harry, Heather Huravitch and Katie Unruh as well as Paulsen and Aberg.

The organization also has a video showcasing the pool's issues on its website at http://chinookfriends.org .   

"Reach out to any of us on the board with your questions; we have to all come together to save these very iconic and important assets in our community," the release said.

Planning for the long term

Friends also is looking to the future in maintaining and improving the pool. In the past 47 years, no money has been set aside for major repairs to the pool, the release said. That is due to the fact that Chinook takes a loss on the pool each year, something that the foundation has already started to lessen.

"We purchased a chlorinator this year with our fundraised donations, which has and is going to save the pool budget a significant amount of money moving forward, approximately 50% of that deficit," Paulsen said. "We hope to completely cut the deficit in the future with our ideas on helping the pool operate more efficiently and with new equipment. That is our end goal."

Once the project is complete, the organization has plans to create an Endowment Fund to ensure that money is set aside for future repairs. They want to prevent this from becoming an issue again, which would entail a lot of hard work from the organization's fundraising efforts each year. The group is committed to the project, and they believe that it is an important part of the community and should remain operational for the current and future citizens of Chinook. 

"We hope the community will share their love for the Pool and Park and vote yes by mailing their ballots back by Valentine's Day," Unruh said.