Pool feasibility study completed

By Rick George

Planning Department manager

Just before press time for this issue of Smoke Signals, Tribal Council was presented the results of the membership survey for a Community Pool.

Grand Ronde Tribal members returned 824 valid surveys expressing their opinions about the possibility of building a community pool in Grand Ronde.

The results were very close with 51.6 percent of respondents supporting the development of a pool and 48.4 percent opposed. Survey responses came from Tribal members living in more than 30 states and one foreign country.

Carl Sherwood, principal with Robertson Sherwood Architects in Eugene, also presented to Tribal Council the findings of the firm’s feasibility study for the Community Fitness/Recreation Pool. Contracted by the Tribal government to inform a decision about whether a pool is affordable and practical, the study provided detailed information about three different pool scenarios, including how much each would cost to construct and operate.

Estimated costs to construct the facility range from slightly more than $4.5 million to less than $7.5 million and operating costs – including everything from staffing to heat and water treatments – range from a low of more than $171,000 to a high of just less than $350,000 annually.

Because the Grand Ronde community is smaller than most communities that operate a pool, the revenue projections are low – less than 15 percent of operating costs.

Tribal General Manager Dave Fullerton said, “Tribal Council wanted to make sure the membership had a snapshot of the findings of the survey and study in this edition of the paper – and we will get more detailed results out during the April 3 General Council meeting, on the website and in future meetings.”