City council discusses repairing swimming pool

Fixing the Bonners Ferry City Swimming Pool is an issue near and dear to councilman John Lang’s heart.

“If we didn’t have that pool, my daughter wouldn’t be able to swim,” said Langs. “I’m sure there are hundreds of other parents that said they are glad we have a pool for the same reason.”

That is why Langs is pushing to find and repair the leaks in the 70-year-old pool at Washington and Fresno streets. The pool lost over 20,000 gallons of water last year.

“Each year the pool is threatened to not open because of maintenance. Either it’s leaking too much or there are problems with the filters,” said Langs. “The city has a golf course that we pay for, so we can certainly pay for a place for the kids to learn to swim.”

About $18,000 was spent to replace the pool’s filters at the beginning of the year, which was believed to be the cause of the leaking.

Council has the choice to re-do the floor of the pool, which was estimated to cost between $25,000-$40,000; purchase a liner for the pool; or continue with annual maintenance, which would be the least expensive option.

“What I want to do, what I will do, is remove the threat of not having a city pool,” said Langs. “This is a small thing that needs to be done and I don’t understand why we are getting resistance to fixing it. I would like to see a fix that is not a year by year, but gets the threat of the pool closing off the table.”

That is why council agreed to hire Mike Woodward, the former city administrator and now a part-time consultant, to take a closer look at the pool and determine the best option. The city has given him 45 days to come up with a repair solution for the pool.

“The pool is so important,” said Langs. “It is the gem of Bonners Ferry. It’s like a classic car. It is so incredibly neat.”

“It is a place for families without a lot of money,” he continued. “There is not much to do for kids in the community. This is a place that we have. We don’t have to build a rec. center; we have it. Let’s just maintain it.”

“The pool will be open one way or another, there’s no doubt about that,” Councilman Dave Gray told the board at its Aug. 5 meeting.