There are a number of pros and cons when talking about using the Bainbridge Island Recreation Center pool once renovation begins at the Ray Williamson Pool at the Aquatic Center.
The debate on what to do with swimmers displaced at that time was discussed at a recent BI Metro Parks & Rec District meeting.
Recreation Division director Madison Collins said factors for which more information is needed include the construction timeline, dates of closure, off-site pool availability, and contractor needs/updates.
BIRC has more members than ever since the district took over, and there are also people who access the facility by using a daily or punch pass. BIRC also houses fitness classes, racquet sports, and other programs that people can pay to attend even if they do not have membership or a pass.
Possible pros and cons surrounding pool use, finances, and user experience were mentioned. BIRC is a busy place and bringing in the displaced swimmers would alter operations and reduce the number of non-pool offerings. Staff anticipates that if the displaced swimmers are accommodated there will be an overall decrease in BIRC revenue to support additional expenses associated with expanded pool offerings.
Acting Executive Director Dan Hamlin said this is a snapshot of what BIRC staff know about the facility as a baseline for a future presentation about potential plans for the aquatic community during the closures.
Commissioner Tom Goodlin said pool temperatures matter and competitive pools are generally cooler than recreation pools so maybe the BIRC pool temperature could be turned down during the Ray Williamson renovation closure. He thinks the high demand for parking at BIRC is, of the things that were mentioned, one of the hardest things to figure out.
Honor Field
Commissioner Ken DeWitt said Chuck Field was director of the BIPRD for 18 years until 1998 when he retired. Field was the second-longest serving head of the district, and he died in 2023.
DeWitt supports naming something in the Grand Forest East as Field considered that his greatest achievement as director. The bond issue for over $5 million to purchase the Grand Forest passed with over 80% approval, the highest approval of any bond in BI history.
The board generally agreed to direct staff to work on a resolution naming the Grand Forest East loop trail after Field.
Staff reports
Park Services superintendent Lydia Roush said Earth Corps was working on trails last week thanks to a grant from BI Parks & Trails Foundation. Volunteers helped replant the entrance on the southwest corner of Moritani Preserve. Student Conservation Corps starts next week. Crews are busy trying to keep up with mowing grass. Thanks to forest thinning work done at Strawberry Hill Park, light is filtering through the canopy and the understory is developing with sword fern coming up.
Hamlin said there has been conversation about moving board meetings back to Strawberry Hill Center. Administrative staff will be moving back there in the fall. Staff propose moving the board meetings back in September and the commissioners did not object.
Assistant executive director Amy Swenson said 123 employees have been onboarded or are in the process of onboarding since May 1. Collins said staff have been working to train the new summer recreation staff and noted that summer camps are starting. Collins said no camps have had to be canceled due to low enrollment, and the waitlists are smaller.
More pool talk
Hamlin said staff held the first of two informational meetings regarding the Ray Williamson pool renovation bond measure. Staff are updating the presentation and the frequently-asked-questions document based on feedback from the first meeting.
The Friends of the New Bainbridge Pool have scheduled an open house to share their feasibility study regarding a new private pool with the community.
The Nakata Slide Staircase Bid was awarded to FPH Construction, which is also doing Phase 1 of the Ray Williamson pool renovation. The amount budgeted was $270,000, but bids came in much lower because staff was able to provide engineered staircase plans. The FPH Construction bid was almost $144,570. The Nakata pool will be shut down July 27-Sept. 1 for the liner replacement project.
Public comments
Mark Mumm spoke in support of speeding up the timeline for the conversion of the shared tennis courts at Battle Point Park into pickleball courts as the pickleball community is paying for the conversion. He suggested that project could be completed by the same contractor who built the new tennis courts at Sakai Park to save time and money.
Hamlin said the tennis community previously agreed to give up the shared tennis courts at Battle Point only after the new courts are built at Sakai. Hamlin said the bid package is out for the tennis courts at Sakai, but it would delay that project to try to combine the two in one bid. DeWitt said the park district must go with the lowest bidder so the two projects may not have the same contractor.
Loanne Harmeling said that she knows no decision has been made but it seems like the winds are shifting for making the home of pickleball at Strawberry Hill Park, in which case perhaps the shared tennis courts at Battle Point could remain as such.
