$33M Pasco water park vote delayed. What it means for the project’s future

The move to get voter approval for an indoor/outdoor aquatic facility in Pasco has been delayed until spring to allow more time for a successful campaign.

Pasco Public Facilities District board members — who’ve nearly exhausted all efforts over the past decade to get the center built — say this time they must get it right.

They want qualified voters in the district to approve raising the local sales tax by two-tenths of a percent to help repay a $40 million, 25-year bond.

The actual price tag for the year-round facility is $33 million, including the initial $2 million land purchase likely in west Pasco.

The board had been eyeing the Feb. 8 ballot, but recently decided to set their sights on Franklin County’s April 26 special election.

Member Leonard Dietrich noted how extremely important it is to get the project before the voters so they can make an informed decision. But he questioned how much could get done over the busy holiday season.

“Can we put all the pieces together to make that happen (on Feb. 8) without having to push a rope?” Dietrich said during the board’s November meeting. “Because you’re pushing something that we may not be able to get to, and we don’t want it to come off, excuse me, half-ass. It needs to be presented properly to the people.”

“Now, I’m at my wits end at how far we’ve pushed this thing down the road,” he added.

Member Spence Jilek said he understood Dietrich’s concern, adding that he’s “a little bit happy” to know the next possible election is in April and not the fall of 2022.

“I don’t want to wait that long, but maybe a couple months will give us a little time,” Jilek said. “... We want to give this as much of a chance to pass as possible.”

The regional effort in 2013 was designed to build a $35 million center on Sandifur Parkway in Pasco. But voters overall rejected a sales tax request from the Tri-Cities Regional Public Facilities District.

‘Vote to float’

In 2019, Gov. Jay Inslee signed Pasco’s “vote to float” legislation amending state law to add aquatic centers to the public amenities that can be built by public facilities districts.

That change means the city of Pasco can move forward on its own and does not need to rely on Kennewick and Richland to help build a facility.

A local sales tax bump needs to be approved with a vote of at least 50 percent or higher. It would be implemented immediately.

That means customers shopping in the Pasco area would be taxed 2 cents on a $10 purchase, 20 cents on a $100 purchase, $2 on $1,000 or $200 on $100,000.

While the sales tax collections would go toward the bond repayment, revenue from the aquatic facility once up and running would cover operating expenses.

As proposed right now, the facility would be built on 4.61 acres in two phases — the first at nearly 47,000 square feet and the second just over 13,000 square feet.

The first phase would include an indoor leisure pool, outdoor activity pool, party room, outdoor concessions and locker rooms.

It could be ready to operate in 2024, with 16 total full- and part-time workers.

The second phase is projected to be 12 to 15 years out with the cash balance from the bond. That phase would involve an indoor, eight-lane competition pool.

January vote

President Mark Morrissette initially said he was opposed to another delay, but then agreed with fellow board members that additional time could be needed to help them pass along to voters what they’ve learned about the proposed project.

The board now is scheduled to vote at its Jan. 18 meeting on a resolution.

That would give the Public Facilities District enough time to meet the Feb. 20 deadline for the county auditor to put the sales tax proposition on the April 26 ballot.

Once that resolution passes, Pasco City Attorney Eric Ferguson said a “checklist of things takes place.”

That includes the creation of “pro” and “con” citizen committees to raise money and campaign.

The board itself is not allowed to campaign for the proposition, or use public facilities to either support or oppose the ballot issue.