Voters Talk Pool Placement

    Voters passed a park bond last November, now the question is, where to put Spokane’s six new pools.

    Monday night, that debate was put to folks in Northwest Spokane. Loma Vista Park is one of six possible locations for a pool. Making a decision on where it will go in this community is important since right now, they don’t have a pool.

    The city Parks Department and an architecture firm held Monday night’s meeting to get input on how to proceed. Each new pool gets $3.5 million in funding. 

    By the end of the night, attendees had narrowed the possibilities down to Loma Vista, Shadle Park and the Joe Albi sports complex. 

    But it’s clear there’s no consensus. Concerns with traffic, lighting and accessibility still have to be worked out.

    “There was a problem here in the neighborhood with both pools going away. It’s important where we put this piece in the puzzle,” said Karen Bell, from the Northwest Spokane Neighborhood Council.

“The pools project alone, ignoring all the other parts of the bond, is $28.8 million. We want to spend it the way people want to spend it. They voted for it, so we want to do it right,” said Interim Parks and Rec. Director Roger Crum.

    The city hopes to start lining up contractors this summer before costs go too high.