Voters to dive into ballot question next month

It’s widely known that the existing Boulder City Municipal Pool is out of date with current building standards, inefficient and faces structural challenges in the coming years, if not sooner.

The 44-year-old structure requires costly maintenance and repairs often. Voters will soon decide if they are ready to take the plunge and let the city use additional unallocated Capital Improvement Funds to help construct a new pool. A ballot question on the Nov. 5 general election asks voters to allow a total amount not to exceed $9 million in addition to the $7 million previously approved by the voters in 2021 of currently available funds in the Capital Improvement Fund for a Swimming Pool Recreational Project. This measure does not propose to add to, change or repeal existing law, and will not increase taxes or fees.

In 2019, City Council created the Municipal Pool Ad Hoc Committee to review options for the future of the pool, with the key question being, “repair it or replace it?” Two council members served as non-voting ex-officio members, along with seven appointed community members with experience in competitive swimming or recreational swimming events, or finance and construction.

In April 2021, the Ad Hoc Committee recommended to the city council to move forward with the construction of a new facility for the Swimming Pool Recreational Project (“Pool”), rather than rehabilitating the existing facility. Preferred design elements included a 10-lane, 25-meter by 25-yard competition pool designed for swimming competitions, pre-swim team practice, lap swimming, and Red Cross certification and training; a four-lane swimming/instructional pool designed for swimming lessons, water aerobics, water walkers and open swim; diving board, and industry leading pool technology and equipment.

SCA Design worked with staff to provide a conceptual design and cost estimate for the project. The Municipal Pool Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendations, as well as staff’s recommendations to maintain current programming and offer additional programming, such as the ability to host competitive swim meets, were incorporated. The estimated cost at that time was $27 Million.

Record inflation, rising materials, labor costs, and other factors impacted the cost estimate. In 2023, SCA’s unchanged conceptual design of the pool project was estimated to cost $36,767,487. The Finance Department created a plan to fund the project based on the updated cost estimate. The plan includes several components and will not increase taxes for residents.

Current funding for the pool includes the following:

• $1.4 Million - Anonymous donations received in 2019 and 2024.

• $7 Million - Capital Improvement Fund spending approved by voters in 2021.

• $7,390,780 - Special Revenue Fund created in 2024 for the pool project ($3,890,780 from the Extraordinary Maintenance Fund; $1.5 million from the fiscal year 2024 budget augmentation; and $2 million from the General Fund fiscal year 2025 budget).

• $559,696 - Interest earned from revenues from the city investing the private donations, the voter approved $7 million, and the $7,390,780 described above.

Today, the city has $16,370,710 in funding for the project. Voters in 2021 also approved using 90% of proceeds from the sale of land known as Tract 350 (near Boulder Creek Golf Course) toward the project. That could contribute up to $19 million, but it could take five years or longer to receive the full funding.

The Capital Improvement Fund currently has an unallocated cash balance of $13.8 million and grows at a rate of approximately $2.8 million annually. These funds come from land sales and leased land payments, including from solar developments and cell tower leases, and the funds can only be spent for Capital Improvement Projects approved by the voters. If voters approve the ballot question, the city would have $25,370,709 in FY 26 toward the project. This would allow the city to have the flexibility to move forward with the project sooner, and the $9 million would cover any shortfalls that may occur due to rising costs for the project. Any Capital Improvement Fund monies allocated to the project, but not spent would be returned to the Capital Improvement Fund to await voter approval for expenditures on another project.

To learn more about the history of the Swimming Pool Recreational Project and the funding components, visit www.bcnv.org/newpool.