City has mismanaged Forest Park pool for decades

Forest Park pool has been operated by the City of Everett for 47 years. In those 47 years it has spent millions upon millions of taxpayer money to keep the pool operational. In 47 years the city has been given every opportunity to improve upon the management of the pool but with very limited success (“Future of long-shuttered Forest Park pool to get deep-dive study,” The Herald, May 3.)

So why did Forest Park pool have such high operating costs. It is poor management.

My question is who has been held accountable for these subsidies. No one! Not the mayor, city council, park administrators, or pool managers; none has ever been held accountable.

“Due to public health and economic impacts of COVID-19, the Forest Park Swim Center is closed until further notice.” This is the statement and reason Forest Park pool is currently closed on it’s website. It is also a total lie. It should state, “Due to the budget deficit and poor management the pool will be closed until further notice.”

In the recent article by the Everett Herald it states, ” Being just over 1 mile away from the new pool at the Everett Family YMCA has been a factor in that decision.” This didn’t seem to be much of a concern of the mayor or the city council when they gave $2.4 million dollars of your taxpayer funds to build the YMCA pool. You would think that would be a conflict of interest. The city could have spent the same amount of money improving Forest Park pool by adding an indoor spray pool and add an instructional pool for lessons.

After 47 years of poor management it is my opinion the City of Everett should not be given the opportunity to operate the pool in the future. The city has neither the skill or knowledge to operate a pool.

So what should happen to Forest Park pool? First fire those administrators who allowed the pool subsidies to get out of control. All managers should be replaced by managers, outside the city. Managers who have proven skill and knowledge of running a large pool facility especially skilled in swim lesson, and lifeguard development. If not save the $92,000 on the contract study and bulldoze the pool.

Steven Lay

Everett