Othello pool issue requires transparency, committee chair says

OTHELLO — Chris Dorow said he wants the process followed by the community group looking at options for a possible new Othello swimming pool to be as transparent as possible.

Dorow is the chair of the “Aquatic Task Force,” which was formed after city officials announced the pool would not open in 2024 due to damage that may have been caused by faulty construction. The damage was discovered in April.

To date, the committee has met twice with another meeting scheduled for early August. The pool has been examined by an engineer working with the city’s insurance company, and Othello Mayor Shawn Logan said Tuesday that while the final report isn’t in, the preliminary examination revealed “significant damage” to the existing structure.

Dorow said it’s still very early in the process of discovering what’s wrong and deciding what to do about it. That uncertainty affects all the committee’s discussions, he said.

A final engineering report is expected in a few weeks, and in the meantime the committee is proceeding on the assumption that the pool will have to be replaced. But if the pool can be repaired at an affordable cost and put back into operation relatively quickly, the committee would support that option, Dorow said. Changing circumstances would affect the committee’s way of thinking, what he called “the algebra.”

“That would change the algebra,” he said.

If the pool is salvageable that wouldn’t be the end of the committee — Dorow said its members would be looking at possible options to add attractions around the pool, or otherwise upgrade it. The construction bond that built the existing pool will be paid off next year, and Othello residents might be interested in expanding the park’s attractions.

One of the goals of the task force is to think about a facility that could be used year-round, Dorow said.

“If repair is an option, it’s going to buy some time to do something really good,” he said. “If that’s what the community wants.”

Transparency in the committee’s work and in the process of fixing or replacing the pool is important to ensure Othello residents have a clear picture of what is and isn’t possible. In addition, city employees might have had concerns about the construction at the time the pool was built, Dorow said, but those concerns apparently were ignored. Nor was there any public discussion.

“And that’s a problem,” Dorow said. “Why didn’t that get addressed then?”

Transparency and communication are crucial, he said.

“That’s the first problem we need to fix,” he said.

The committee is working with consultants to look at different options for a rebuilt pool; options run all the way from replacing the existing pool to building an aquatic facility with event space. Another of the committee’s goals is to make a facility Othello residents can be proud of, he said. He pointed to the newly opened Iron Horse playground as an example.

“We’ve got a road map of what makes community pride,” Dorow said.