Community group Valley Pool Together is continuing the ongoing discussion on public pool access in the Snoqualmie Valley by petitioning for a unified partnership between Snoqualmie, Si View Metropolitan Park District, Snoqualmie Valley School District, and other interest groups in the pursuit of a new pool center.
In a region where deep lakes and rushing rivers are often a stone’s throw away, the necessity of an accessible swimming center cannot be understated. That necessity has historically been satisfied with the Si View Pool, built in 1938 as a product of the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. The pool has survived several budget cuts and temporary closures over its 86 years, largely due to the organization of the community. Notable instances in which local citizens have rallied to save the pool occurred in 1961, 1975, 2002, and 2011.
Yet while the local community has seen a few changes since 1938, the Si View Pool has not seen enough. As the sole swimming center in the region, the Si View Pool is unable to service even a fraction of the growing community. In 2022, 5,329 students participated in swim lessons — 3,104 students were left on waitlists. Further inadequacy comes from the deterioration of the facility. Cracks line the walls of the pool, and the mechanical systems within the facility are in constant need of repair. Just like the benefits which Si View Pool brought Depression-era townsfolk, a new pool would do well to serve the new Snoqualmie Valley, according to the group.
While City of Snoqualmie residents constitute 45% of participants in Si View Pool programs, voting on Si View Metropolitan Park District matters is limited to the district. There have been three capital bond measures for the creation of a new pool center since 2020, with the most recent this past November, with each attempt falling just short of the strict 60% supermajority pass percentage.
As a parent of four, Kate Moscato Leen has come to know what public services are offered to her children. And as wife of a recent candidate for Si Views Parks Commissioner, Moscato Leen has come to know the wider concerns of her community. She started the online petition in order to collect support for a new public pool funded by relevant municipalities.
Moscato Leen remembers the frantic worry that arose this past August in her own backyard. One of her neighbors, a parent of two young children, had sent a group text message asking if anyone had seen her children. Given that their property backs up to the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River, it was not long before the dreaded question arrived: “Has anyone checked the river?”
“There are families in our area that live with this all the time, realizing that they need to make sure their kids are safe around water, but they don’t have access to make that possible,” Moscato Leen said.
The most realistic funding that is being offered by King County to the municipalities is an aquatic grant which has a $5 million cap, not nearly enough for what is needed. Moscato Leen’s petition is intended to bring lawmakers, community leaders and voters into agreement on a regional partnership, one voice behind the goal of creating an adequate facility to serve not only the residents of Snoqualmie and North Bend, but also those of unincorporated lands and other cities. There are several potential avenues of funding this project, such as the expansion of Si View Metropolitan Parks Department boundaries or the inclusion of pool funding in upcoming Snoqualmie Valley School District bonds.
For Moscato Leen and the 643 signees, the first step toward any future pool center begins with discussion. The petition can be found under the title “A Regional Aquatic Center for Snoqualmie Valley” on ipetitions.com, and the Valley Pool Together page can be found on Facebook.
