Participants at a planning meeting held Wednesday (July 15) at Wagner Memorial Pool indicated their design preferences for a new swimming pool in Twisp. Friends of the Pool hopes to identify a location for the new pool this year.
Early concepts presented at planning meeting
Community members interested in seeing a new swimming pool in Twisp got their feet wet Wednesday (July 15) at a planning meeting for the facility, led by a recently hired consultant.
A few dozen in attendance at the meeting, held at Wagner Memorial Pool, had an opportunity to express their preferences for pool design and the types of activities that might be hosted there.
So far, only basic concepts have been sketched out. The three designs presented by Friends of the Pool (FOP) and its consultant, George Deines of the firm Counsilman-Hunsaker, all showed a six-lane, 25-yard lap pool — a standard size for a community pool that hosts smaller competitions. Each concept included a children’s wading area and some space for water fitness and other recreational activities.
Deines also presented three approaches to pool construction that could allow for year-round use: an air-filled dome that would be removed during the summer, a retractable steel roof and a tension-fabric enclosure.
Attendees favored the retractable roof, which Deines said in an interview was the most expensive option. Some at the meeting showed a preference for the “bubble” dome — the least costly option.
No cost estimates were given. These would be determined later, after more design details are filled in.
In addition to construction costs, FOP and its consultant must also determine yearly operating costs before raising funds for the pool, FOP board President Suzanne Perin said.
Funding uncertain
A funding mechanism for the new pool also is yet to be determined, Perin said in an interview after the meeting.
One approach that has already proven unsuccessful was a proposal to create a metropolitan park district, a special taxing district that could levy as much as 75 cents of property tax per $1,000 of assessed value.
That proposition was presented to Methow Valley voters in November 2023 and failed by a margin of more than two to one. A specific pool design wasn’t included with the measure, but a 2022 estimate floated before the election put construction costs at $21 million and operating costs at $600,000 annually.
The metropolitan park district was drawn with the same boundaries as the Methow Valley School District, to spread the proposed tax burden over most of the Methow Valley. Currently, the only taxpayers supporting the pool are those who live or shop in the Town of Twisp.
“We would like to find a way to make that more equitable,” Perin said in the interview. “We have a lot to figure out, in communication with the community.”
During the meeting, Perin tamped down a rumor that FOP had already found a site for the new pool, saying the nonprofit hopes to determine the location sometime this year. She appeared to rule out a rebuild of the pool in its current footprint, in Twisp Park next to the Methow River.
“It’s pretty impossible for us to rebuild the pool here,” she said, noting that “a third of the swimming pool is on the floodplain.”
Perin has said FOP wants to site the new pool in Twisp.
Wagner Pool, which was built in 1966, has already exceeded its useful lifetime. Its concrete shell is prone to cracks and leaks, and the town couldn’t open the pool in 2024 due to extensive damage to its interior liner. FOP donated $230,000 to the town in 2024 and 2025 for pool repairs and staffing costs, enabling the facility to reopen last year.
Town and FOP officials estimate Wagner Pool can hold out until 2030, giving the nonprofit a deadline for building a new pool.
“We have four years to get there,” Perin said, “fingers crossed.”
