Sean C. Morgan
School District 55 is seeking exactly the same local option levy approved by voters two years ago to pay for the swimming pool.
“It’s the exact same thing that we’ve already voted on,” said Bruce Davis, president of the Sweet Home Swim Club. “There is no increase. It’s basically status quo. It’s enough to keep the pool operating at the same level it’s operating now.”
This request is for five years, the maximum length the district can request, Davis said. That will provide some stability for the swimming pool and its programs as organizations like the Swim Club decide whether to apply for grants and make improvements.
If approved in the May 20 election, the tax will continue at 32 cents per $1,000 of assessed property values. The question will be decided by voters within the boundaries of School District 55.
For many or most people in the city, the levy does not cost anything, Davis said. It is reduced to zero by property tax limitations.
Education tax rates are not allowed to exceed $5 per $1,000 of real market values, and many properties within the city are at that limit.
The cost is low, Davis said. He lives on property outside the city, and his bill was $25 for the pool last year.
The district sought a local option levy after swimming pool funding was reduced during budget cuts.
A committee explored the idea of creating an aquatics district, but the associated permanent rate would have reduced county and city property tax revenues, especially the levies funding law enforcement and library services.
“The city has to sign off on it, and for obvious reasons, they didn’t want to,” Davis said.
The local option through the School District has worked well though, he said, adding that Supervisor Gretchen Dougherty has done a great job with the program.
“The pool is available to people of all ages,” Davis said. It provides rehabilitation for athletes, lessons for children of all ages and low-impact exercise for the elderly.
The small pool and main pool provide a chance for the elderly to get in the water and move, Davis said. It’s a healthy sport, with many opportunities for the community. Thursday night open swim attracted 50 youngsters last week. Family night gives the whole family the chance to use the pool.
From the Swim Club’s perspective, “we have a very talented group of kids that are swimming very well,” Davis said.
The team just keeps filling in as students grow up, he said. Swim Club athletes feed the high school swim team, whose girls squad won a third-place trophy – all with swimmers who were either freshmen or sophomores. The boys team at state was also all juniors or below. More accomplished eighth-graders are on the way.
“Right now, and for years to come, they’re going to be really talented,” Davis said.
“It’s too valuable a resource for our community to lose it,” he said, urging voters to say yes to the levy request.
Ballots for the primary election are scheduled to arrive in mailboxes later this week. Sweet Home-area voters will be asked to decide on the Linn County Law Enforcement Levy and a local option levy to fund the Sweet Home pool. Also on the ballot are GOP candidates John Lindsey and Chanz Keeney for Linn County Commission Position 1.