Update: The M&O levy will be on the ballot August 6, 2024.

For the fifth time in the past seven years, the Selah Parks and Recreation Service Area (SPRSA) will ask voters to fund a maintenance and operations (M&O) levy to help keep the Bruce Buchanan Aquatic Center open beyond this summer. 

The SPSRA board of directors will decide at its March 18 meeting whether to put the measure on the ballot in August or November, but Aquatic Center Director Aimee Ozanich said initial conversations have been leaning toward the earlier date.

The proposed property tax rate will be 7 cents per $100,000 of assessed value, which mirrors the original amount that was approved by voters in 2011. Ozanich believes that rate — which comes out to about $35 a year for a $500,000 home — will be more palatable to voters than the 10 cents per $100,000 proposal that failed in November 2021.  

“We are hoping that the experience people have had at the pool over the past five years will speak for itself,” Ozanich said. “Even if people don’t use the pool, we hope they will see it as something that is good for everyone, like paying for our schools, our police, and our firefighters.”

The taxpayer-funded facility at 214 S. Third St. opened in 2019, but voters have denied the organization’s funding request four different times since 2018. 

The SPSRA earned a reprieve in 2022 when Bruce Buchanan’s estate contributed $200,000 to help pay for maintenance and operations expenses, including insurance and staffing. But, according to Ozanich, that money is close to running out. If Selah taxpayers fail to pass the M&O levy, the aquatic center won’t be able to remain open after the upcoming summer season.

“We are facing about a $50,000 to $60,000 shortfall each year, and we won’t be able to do that again if we don’t pass a levy,” Ozanich said. “Based on the past three years, we have a pretty good idea what our revenues and costs are going to be. We know we can make things work if we can pass a rate of 7 cents per $100,000.”

In 2015, 63% of voters approved a $6.2 million construction bond to replace the Selah Pool with the Selah Aquatic Center, which is owned by SPRSA. The City of Selah, which owns the land, has said in the past that it does not want to operate the facility.

Annual M&O for the aquatic center costs about $200,000 per year, which includes $100,000 for lifeguards and support staff. The previous M&O funding for 2012-18 — approved by 78% of voters in 2011 — came out to 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, but that levy expired before the new facility opened in 2019. 

The last time the M&O levy measure was on the ballot two and a half years ago, it received only 50.9% approval — well short of the 60% supermajority required to pass. The 2018 and 2019 measures were much closer, receiving 59.2% and 58.9%, respectively.

Ozanich remains optimistic that changes in local government, plus sustained support from residents and community organizations, will help reverse the SPSRA’s fortunes this time around.

“We’re hoping the political climate now will be more supportive than it has been,” Ozanich said. “We have a new mayor, a new city administrator and new City Council members, and it feels like we’re a much warmer town now when it comes to supporting community initiatives like this.”

If the M&O levy measure isn’t able to reach the required 60% to pass later this year, the aquatic center would sit idle until a funding source could be secured. Meanwhile, the SPRSA or the city would still need to pay insurance on the unoccupied facility.

“Even if no one is using it, we still have to pay insurance,” Ozanich said. “The land would probably just end up back with the city, and the aquatic center would just sit there.”

Another unfortunate reality for taxpayers is that, even if the aquatic center were to remain vacant for an indefinite period, they would still be on the hook for the 20-year construction bond they approved back in 2015. Whether voters approve the levy or not, the bond is still going to appear on their property tax bill for years to come.

“I don’t know what to say to people who are against any new taxes, no matter what,” Ozanich said. “I just hope they see the community benefit of something like this, like they did when they voted to approve our recent school bonds.”

The SPRSA is hoping common sense will prevail in the end. After all, the real-life cost of the proposed M&O levy — $35, or $3 per month — translates to one restaurant meal per year. It’s considerably less than a tank of gas, and adds up to about five lattes.

“It’s a much lower rate this time around, and most homeowners would hardly notice it,” Ozanich said. “But it has to happen, and we’re going to make our case to the community once again.”

The Bruce Buchanan Aquatic Center is currently taking applications for lifeguards and cashiers on its website, selahaquaticcenter.org. Summer programs are scheduled to begin in early June and open swims will start around June 10. If you have any questions, email selahaquaticcenter@gmail.com.