Indoor Pool Renovation Would Increase Access, Provide Swim Lessons

Indoor Pool Renovation Would Increase Access, Provide Swim Lessons

Fianna Dickson, Communications Manager, Parks & Recreation, No Phone Number Available

Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at 4:29 p.m.

Swim season simply wrapped up – common season on the City’s 6 aquatic facilities concluded with free open swimming on Saturday, August 16.

But year-round swimming at a renovated indoor pool could also be in Spokane’s future.

The Together Spokane initiative (a Parks levy and School bond, two separate however aligned proposals on the November poll) would renovate the shuttered indoor pool at Spokane Community College for year-round use.

The pool can be a public facility serving youth, adults, and seniors.

As the town’s solely indoor public pool, it might supply:

• More swim classes to equip individuals with the life-saving talent – each youth and adults
• Swim classes for Spokane Public School 2nd graders, as a part of their curriculum
• More adaptive swim occasions for individuals with particular wants
• Access for highschool swim groups
• More aquatics programming like aquafit and lap swimming
• Additional lifeguard certification lessons

Drowning is a number one reason for dying for younger kids, and other people with Autism. Free classes for SPS 2nd graders would purpose to extend water security expertise for our space youth.

“No family in Spokane should ever feel the impact of a child that’s drowned,” Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Adam Swinyard advised KHQ. “This would definitely be a significant foundation for (second graders) to give them those critical water safety skills and awareness to mitigate that drowning risk that we unfortunately face in our community,” Swinyard added to the Spokesman-Review.

The public indoor pool would increase Spokane Parks & Recreation’s six outside aquatic facilities which might be open for no-cost public swimming and reasonably priced swim classes 9 weeks/12 months.

Swim classes fill rapidly in the summertime, and a year-round pool would deliver extra swim classes for youth and adults. It would additionally present extra public entry.

“We had over 100,000 visits just in that stretch of time this summer,” Spokane Parks & Recreation’s Aquatics Supervisor Josh Oakes advised KXLY. “There are a lot of people that want access to swimming, whether it’s for fitness, for fun or mobility issues.”

It would additionally imply extra sensory sensitivity swim time for these with particular wants.

“It’s like another world for a lot of swimmers with disabilities, and it’s another opportunity to exercise and feel freedom,” Recreation Supervisor Alice Busch advised KXLY. Alice runs the Therapeutic Recreation Services program for individuals with disabilities, and sees demand for year-round pool time from the group she serves.

Partnering to renovate this current facility would price a fraction of the tens of tens of millions that may be wanted to construct a brand new indoor aquatics heart. The School bond would fund the renovation, and the Parks levy would supply ongoing upkeep and operations.

The undertaking would transfer ahead if each the Parks levy and School bond go in November, as one of many “30+ additional projects” accomplished collectively.

Read extra concerning the indoor aquatic heart and 200+ extra tasks on the Together Spokane website.

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