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FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015
Vol. CXXIV, No. 64
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Published Since Since 1890 1890
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$6M aquatics facility approved for Hilltop community center Posted online Thurs., April 2 Article By Todd Matthews, Editor A long-shuttered community swimming pool in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood is expected to open next year following major upgrades and new amenities. Tacoma City Council approved a purchase resolution Tuesday awarding a contract worth nearly $6 million to Tacoma-based Construction Enterprises & Contractors to build a new swimming pool and aquatics center at the People's Community Center, located at 1602 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The center, which was built in 1978, is owned by the City of Tacoma and operated by Metro Parks Tacoma. The pool was closed in 2008 after an engineer's report cited structural concerns. A new swimming pool is the centerpiece of the project, which will also include a three-lane lap pool, passive swim area and bench, indoor spray pad, current channel, vortex, and lily pad walk. In addition, visitors will also notice new restrooms and changing areas, two party rooms, and basketball hoops. Three contractors submitted proposals for the project after it was put out for bid in January (see "Tacoma Bid Watch: Hilltop swimming pool, transient camp clean ups, and South Tacoma Way revamp," Tacoma Daily Index, Feb. 12, 2015; and "Tacoma Bid Watch: Foss Waterway Esplanade, ammo recycling, and People's Community Center swimming pool," Tacoma Daily Index, Jan. 13, 2015). The project is being paid for using approximately $3.45 million in City bonds, approximately $1.74 million in Metro Parks Tacoma
The City of Tacoma and Metro Parks Tacoma will spend nearly $6 million on a new aquatics facility at the People's Community Center in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood. (IMAGES COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA / METRO PARKS TACOMA)
bonds, and a $485,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce. A ground-breaking ceremony could be held by the end of this month. The project is scheduled to be completed during summer 2016. More information about the project is available online at cityoftacoma.org/peoplespool. During the Tacoma City Council meeting on Tuesday, several people spoke in support of the new swimming pool and aquatics center at the People's Community Center. Fletcher Jenkins (People's Community Center Pool Improvements Community Advisory Group) I'm just here to express our deepest appreciation and thanks to the City, our park district, and especially our two council people [Lauren] Walker and [Victoria] Woodards — the dynamic duo who helped us through this program of delivering a swimming
pool back to our community. This was a vital, important area that we were working toward throughout the years, and with their help — and the community, our churches, and other organizations and groups who supported us — we have finally arrived. We are hoping that now that we see the finish line, that we can see everyone at the groundbreaking. Hopefully this will proceed in a way that will strengthen our community, especially for our children in our area. Lauren Walker (Tacoma City Councilmember) This has been a very long time coming. In 1969, the African American community in the Hilltop asked the City for a pool for the kids, and the pool got built. When I started on the City Council in 2008 — in January, my first month — I wrote a letter to the Metro Parks Commissioners asking them to value their pool. I asked them to think about what they could do to make People's Pool better. But three months later, the pool was closed because it was condemned. We were not happy. It's been seven years and three months of very hard work to raise $6 milCONTINUED lion, to have a partnership beON PAGE 2