The Friends of the Pool and Park Foundation (FOPP) have been working tirelessly for the past 30 months to raise funds and awareness to save the Chinook City Pool and Park. The facilities have seen significant deterioration through the years and are in dire need of being repaired. The local pool and park are such a pivotal part of the community and provide so much that repairing these facilities is paramount. Since being built in 1976, the pool and park has not had any money set aside for major repairs in the last 47 years. A big reason for this is the fact that the City Pool operates with a loss each year, something the FOPP has already started to lessen. "We purchased a chlorinator this year with our fundraised donations, which has and is going to save the pool budget a significant amount of money moving forward (approximately 40-50% of that deficit). We hope to completely cut the deficit in the future with our ideas on helping the pool operate more efficiently and with new equipment. That is our end goal," states Jill Paulsen of the FOPP.

In seeking funding to facilitate the repairs, a $750,000 Bond from taxpayers in the newly created Recreation District will be sent out to voters January 17th. Once the project is complete, the FOPP has plans to create an Endowment Fund to ensure that money is set aside for future repairs moving forward. The FOPP wants to ensure this from becoming an issue again and it requires a lot of hard work from the organization's fundraising efforts each year. The FOPP is committed to the project, and "We believe that it is an important part of the community and should remain operational for the current and future citizens of Chinook."

In helping members of the Recreation District understand the cost, the FOPP states, "We understand that times are tough, and taxes are not fun. We just ask that the community think about the future benefit of passing the Recreation District Bond and the cost it could save the community by doing this now versus waiting. Should we wait, our engineer states that with today's costs, we would be looking at over $3 million dollars to fully replace the pool alone should it completely fail. We don't want that to happen as it could be a bigger expense to the taxpayers should full replacement be necessary. For those that are on fixed incomes, there is a program called the Property Tax Assistance Program (PTAP) that is available to apply for, and we have been told it is under-utilized here; it could be a definite help for those that believe that the pool is important but may not have financial means to support the additional $50 per year." For those interested in this program, a link to the State website is available on http://www.chinookfriends.org.

In looking at the pool attendance the FOPP states there were over 5,700 individual visits to the pool in 2021, of which many were from out of town. "It's quite interesting to see how many people come from afar to our quaint town to enjoy our wonderful outdoor pool. Once this project is fully completed, it will be a definite draw for people to visit Chinook or even opt to move here. Next to housing prices and School Districts, neighborhood amenities are the 3rd largest reason a family chooses to move to a community," notes Jill Paulsen.

Swimming lessons are just another reason to get the pool fixed right and maintained "It takes an average of 52 lessons for a child to become a competent swimmer. Learning how to swim takes time, consistency and plenty of practice, something that we feel is so important for the children of the community to learn. Should the pool fail, children would not be able to swim in a safe environment, let alone learn how to swim properly. Swimming is an important part of our community, and it shows with our powerhouse Swim Team that holds the 2022 Class A State Championship title," continues Jill Paulsen.

The FOPP has a video showcasing the pool's issues on their website at http://www.chinookfriends.org and encourages everyone to ask questions. "Reach out to any of us on the board with your questions; we have to all come together to save these very iconic and important assets in our community." The Foundation's Board Members include Jill Paulsen, Julianne Snedigar, Jessica Aberg, Shelby Nemetz, Heather DePriest, Kelsey Harry, Heather Huravitch and Katie Unruh.