Dayton pool district making progress on pool project

COLUMBIA COUNTY - At the Port of Columbia's Economic Development Steering Committee meeting last week, Katie Leid provided an update on progress made by the Board of Commissioners for the Columbia County Parks and Recreation Pool District (CCP&RPD) to build a community pool.

Leid, board Treasurer, told the committee about the plan to build a new pool at the site of the old Dayton Community Pool and to upgrade the existing pool house.

She said Lyle Smith, CEO of WMS Aquatics, met with the pool district's five-member board of commissioners in July 2024 to talk about a pool project his company did for the Community of Kettle Falls. In August, Leid and commissioners Lisa Naylor and Terri Hessler, visited Kettle Falls and liked what they saw and heard about the pool, which is a Myrtha pool.

Based in Ellensburg, WMS Aquatics is the northwest distributor of Myrtha pools.

According to WMS Aquatics, Myrtha pools don't require a significant maintenance schedule. They are not subject to variation between intended and actual dimensions during manufacture, and the structure will not suffer cracks or be susceptible to leaks. The pools are also not affected by the aggressive action of chlorinated pool water.

Leid said all five commissioners agree that a Myrtha pool is the best fit for this community.

The current estimate for the pool is around $3 million: $200,000 for demolition and removal of the old pool, $2.65 million for the pool itself, and $100,000 to upgrade and update the existing pool house, including updates to the mechanical room. The cost of lane lines, starting blocks, a lifeguard stand, and a pool cleaner is about $50,000. Readying the concrete for possible future use as an indoor pool will cost an additional $50,000.

This year, roughly two-thirds of the 2023 levy property tax collection has been collected, Leid said. The funds paid for the district's share of the November 2023 and November 2024 General Election costs, attorney fees from the fourth quarter of 2024 through the third quarter of 2025. Budinger and Associates were paid for their geotechnical engineering report. WMS Aquatics has also been paid for the site plan with the required setbacks and 3D renderings of the pool area and pool house.

In addition, the tax collection helped build a web page.

"Using social media to reach our constituents in Columbia County is a vital tool to inform our voters of what the CCP&RPD has been doing. Building the website now will help pool users get used to the site where, eventually, they will be able to purchase pool passes, pay for lessons, etc," Leid said.

In November, the CCP&RPD is asking voters to approve a 20-cent-per-thousand property tax levy for 2026.

"We will be using the funds for required expenses such as annual audits by the state, election expenses every year a levy is run, for professional services including retaining an attorney, setting aside one-third of money collected for capital project matching funds as grants are written and awarded, and for hiring a part-time bookkeeper."

The CCP&RPD budget is broken into four areas: personnel ($33,000), administration ($32,000), professional services ($73,000), and capital projects ($62,000), for a total of $200,000, which is the amount of levy tax dollars collected in 2025 and expected in 2026.

The board has begun a capital campaign to raise additional money for the pool project. A consultant and grant writer was hired by the board in August, and the Friends of the Pool are seeking grants and helping with fundraisers. Leid said plans for the 2026 Duck Derby are now underway.

The community can help by donating to the Friends of the Pool at P.O. Box 192, Dayton, Wash., specifying how the donation should be used. This could be for the purchase of the pool cleaner, one or more of the lane lines, the reel to hold the lane lines, or the pool cover and reel.

CCP&RPD meetings are at 5 p.m. on the last Thursday of the month in the conference room at Fire Dist. No. 3. Information is also online at http://www.daytonpool.com.