A pool management contract between the City of Washington and the YMCA came into question at the recent council meeting. A three-year agreement reviewed by the park board was discussed. The proposed contract has the YMCA receiving a total of $6,800 over the next three seasons for management fees. That includes training and scheduling all of the staff for the facility. The city would be responsible for repairs or maintenance of the facility, as well as chemicals which have ranged from $6,800 to $9,200 in recent years.

The topic met resistance from members of the council with concerns of hours of operation, access for citizens, and the use by the Y for paid swimming lessons. Last season, the pool closed early six times, three for inclement weather and three for low attendance. Mayor Jaron Rosien says the contract is advantageous, in response to a comment that the city run the pool, “I would be concerned that we would spend more money in that scenario, and that this partnership is advantageous to us and to the Y. It enables them to do the things that they do and it enables us to be more effective with taxpayer dollars because I believe firmly that we would spend more money in the scenario that you described, not that it’s not worth examining if that’s what elected officials want, but that would be a reservation that I would have.”

City Administrator Brent Hinson echoed Rosien’s remarks and said the parks department gets busy at the same time the pool opens, and that he feels it’s better than when the city ran the pool. The YMCA has been managing the facility since 2014.

Association Director for the YMCA of Washington County Amy Schulte said the city approached the YMCA initially to oversee operations, “We are trying to offer a service to the community in the best and safest way possible. And we feel like that there is, the cost that the city would see for hiring a manager and hiring the staff, there’s a lot of additional hidden costs as Brent [Hinson] has mentioned that would go along with an aquatics center like this, so I think that all that has to be considered when you’re looking at the big picture of things. And also I would say that when the city chose to build this million-dollar facility, the city made the commitment, a long-term commitment to the community to maintain that facility, they took on that responsibility in wanting to offer this to the community.”

The item was tabled with a 5-1 vote, Danielle Pettit-Majewski was the lone nay vote. A directive was given to staff to draft a one-year agreement that would be reviewed annually. The council will next meet on January 7th at the new fire department.