SOUTH WHIDBEY: Pool contract, levy approved by parks district

Kira Erickson reports from the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District special board meeting of Mon., July 28, 2025 for the South Whidbey Record. Read the whole story.

After years of planning, an aquatic recreation center is one step closer to becoming a reality for South Whidbey.

Last week, commissioners for the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District approved the signing of a contract for the major project and settled on a levy amount to put before the voters in November.

Though voters approved a $27 million bond in 2023 for the pool, it will not be enough to cover the total cost when factoring in additional expenses such as design, permitting and project management.

The district’s current maintenance and operations levy rate is 22 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value… the commissioners ended up supporting 46 cents instead after some deliberation. The measure will appear on the general election ballot this November.

They Said It

…As Executive Director Brian Tomisser explained, signing the contract with a builder now, as opposed to waiting, means the pool will be built at the lowest possible cost, but it also means some of the alternative items for the project will be lost.

Tomisser proposed raising [the levy rate] to 45 cents for four years, which will bring in about $1 million in revenue. [Commissioner Matt] Simms suggested the new levy rate should be 47 cents, allowing for an extra cushion since the facility’s exact revenue is not yet known.