The continued support for the pool is being led by a private organization. The Town of Winthrop has been quiet on the Pool issue, due to the defeat of Proposition 1 in November 2023. This defeat does not necessarily indicate residents do not want a pool, it said, they do not want their taxes increased for a pool.
The Winthrop Town Council has not had any requests, by Winthrop residents, to reopen a pool funding discussion.
Regards,
Mayor Ranzau
Mayor Sally Ranzau
Town of Winthrop
PO Box 459
Winthrop, WA 98862
509-996-2320
I have been having some discussions with Friends of the Pool and the Town Council about possible solutions to ensuring a pool facility remains in Twisp. We do not have a clear path forward at the moment, and there are many other pressing priorities we are dealing with in tamdem with this complex issue, so progress is slower than we would all like at the moment...
I would be interested in meeting with you soon to talk about your knowledge and ideas regarding a PFD, and potential other options. Do you want to try to meet on May 22nd or 23rd at the Twisp Civic Building for a discussion on this?
Thank you for your continued interest in this issue and being willing to help figure out solutions to this difficult situation.
I’m thinking some of us should go to the next council meetings and bring the topic of the pool up in person. You know we’re going to be the ones who are blamed if the pool isn’t up and running this year.
Well, it has been near 6 months since this email was sent regarding possible funding ideas for a community pool solution. I have seen no response of proactive steps to address the pool issue. Does this mean the issue is no longer relevant to the community and is not going to be addressed?
Ray Peterson
425-239-3777
On Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 12:02:00 PM PST, Ray Peterson <pasayten@yahoo.com> wrote:
Mayors of Twisp and Winthrop,
The election is over and Proposition 1 for the Metropolitan Park District is defeated. Our community is still left without support for a regional pool for the towns of Winthrop and Twisp. The community is also somewhat divided over the issue.
RCW 35.57 allows towns to create their own local Public Facilities Districts (PFD) and initiate a 0.2% sales tax addon to support projects. Pasco successfully recently did this to build a new pool facility.
A funding option for a Twisp pool project would be for having Winthrop and Twisp each create a separate Public Facilities District with a 0.2% sales tax addon. Then combine the funds thru an interlocal agreement to support a regional pool. I believe there is also a $10mil total facility value requirement. This could be accomplished by adding the library and skating rink into the PFD which would also help support of these important local regional facilities.
State and county legal will not accept private citizens requests to look into the legal aspects like this as it applies to the RCW. Could you look into this and initiate such a discussion as a possible solution?
