Chelan County Exploring Expansion Of Recreation Service Area To Fund New Leavenworth Pool

Efforts to upgrade the Leavenworth City Pool are continuing.

Chelan County Commissioner Shon Smith says the community is trying to beat the clock by figuring out a plan for the rapidly-aging facility.

"It's been a hot topic up there because that pool only has a lifespan of another five to seven years and will soon need to be replaced. So the community is coming together and saying 'okay, is this the time to take action to build a facility that could have a year-round use and not just for the summertime when the weather's nice'."

Smith says one option that's being explored to fund a new or newly-renovated pool is to expand the reach of the Upper Valley Park & Recreation Service Area (PRSA).

"The idea is to take the PRSA around the entire Cascade School District as opposed to just the town of Leavenworth. Because we know that people coming from places like Peshastin, Dryden, Plain, and the Chumstick are not in that Area. But if you pull them into it and say 'hey, now you have a local pool that you can use year-round', it might be a selling point for people to pay a little bit more on their property taxes."

Last November, the City of Leavenworth approved a funding request from the PRSA in the amount of $69,820 for a feasibility study regarding a new or renovated pool.

The study produced several options, including improved methods of covering the pool to extend its seasonal use and fully enclosing it so it could remain open year-round.

A meeting to showcase the possibilities was held on Tuesday at the Festhalle in Leavenworth.

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