Dear Wedgwood Pool Community,

Many of you have asked for updates about the status of the Wedgwood All Year (WWAY) Committee’s work to explore the feasibility of operating the Wedgwood Pool year round. This letter summarizes the research conducted by the WWAY Committee and the Wedgwood Pool Board, thanks the WWAY Committee for the work, and details the Board’s decision to end consideration of year-round operations and disband the WWAY Committee. This decision was based on roadblocks that the board identified related to permitting, insurance, property taxes, and financial risk. The Board appreciates all the research done by the WWAY Committee. You can keep reading to learn more details about the research and decision-making processes.

First, we must thank the members of the WWAY Committee for their diligent and community- minded work to propose an all-year schedule and then to research the feasibility of operating the pool year round. The Committee identified a schedule consisting of primarily lap swimming and swim team rentals, which would offset the costs of year-round operations. The Committee researched community interest in year-round swimming, the costs of necessary infrastructure upgrades such as new boilers, permitting issues, staffing issues, traffic and parking, and the financial impact and risks of moving to year-round operations. Many of you might remember that these topics were discussed in the Committee’s preliminary report and community discussions about WWAY.

The Board continued to investigate the feasibility of operating the Wedgwood Pool year round, focusing on high impact areas where major questions remained: permitting, insurance, property taxes, and financial risk for the Wedgwood Pool and its members. The investigation of these high-impact areas are summarized in the following sections.

Permitting
The WWAY Committee determined that renting the pool to swim teams and non-members for lap swimming was required to make year-round operations feasible. However, the Board was uncertain whether renting out the pool to third parties for eight months per year would be allowed under our current permit, would require the Wedgwood Pool to obtain a new permit, or would not be permitted at all. To investigate, the Board hired the law firm McCullough Hill, PLLC.

McCullough Hill reported that the Wedgwood Pool is zoned Neighborhood Residential 3 (NR- 3) and operates as a “community club” in that residential zone based on an “Administrative Use Permit” with the City of Seattle. Further, they reported that “commercial uses are prohibited in NR zones, so any rental opportunities to third parties would need to remain an accessory / auxiliary component to the primary use as a community club.” The third party rentals required to make year-round operations feasible would be at a scale above “accessory” or “auxiliary,” and would be considered commercial. Therefore, the Board concluded that permitting was a roadblock that would make year-round operations infeasible. It is important to note that peer community pools that operate year round are zoned differently from the Wedgwood Pool. Also, the Board believes the application to allow the required rentals to outside parties would be contested.

Insurance
The Wedgwood Pool’s insurance policy is written for a “private community swimming pool/club” and is based on the current use by Members, Seniors, Near Neighbors, and Guests. Renting the pool to third parties would represent a substantial change to our insurance policy. Our current insurance provider, when asked about continuing coverage with rentals to third parties, said that they “would want to retire from coverage entirely.” The Board was further advised by our insurance broker that the market for insuring community pools is very narrow and that finding another insurer would be a challenge. Therefore, the Board concluded that insurance was also a roadblock to year-round operations.

Property Taxes
While the Board determined that obtaining a new permit for the Wedgwood Pool to operate year round was not feasible based on its zoning and current permit, the Board investigated the costs that might be incurred if we were somehow able to obtain a new permit. Based on an analysis of peer community pools that are located in commercial zones, the Board determined that being zoned as commercial would likely increase property taxes by $60,000 per year. Therefore, the Board determined that, even if we were able to obtain a commercial permit, the increase in property taxes would present a significant challenge to making year- round operations financially viable.

Financial Risk
Moving to year-round operations would require significant capital costs—possibly requiring assessment payments by Members—and these capital costs would represent a significant risk to Members. For example, new boilers with an estimated cost of $175,000-$350,000 would be required to operate the pool through winter months. Additionally, as determined by McCullough Hill, PLLC, legal fees for pursuing a change of the Master Use Permit with the City of Seattle could reach $150,000 with appeals, and would likely fail to secure a change of the Master Use Permit.

While these capital costs might be paid down through rentals and lap swimmer fees over years, that approach would hinge on the financial viability and sustainability of those programs, which are not guaranteed. Neither the WWAY Committee nor the Board could identify a mechanism or an outside entity by which the Wedgwood Pool and its Members— including those not interested in year-round swimming—would be insulated from the financial risk of paying the capital costs required to move to year-round operations. Therefore, the Board, as financial caretakers for the Wedgwood Pool, is concerned that year-round operations would put the pool at too high of a financial risk.

Based on the Board’s investigation into these four high-impact areas—permitting, insurance, property taxes, and financial risk—the Board voted to end further consideration of year-round operations, to thank the WWAY Committee for their work, and to dissolve the WWAY Committee. The Board did not take this decision lightly, but simply could not see a feasible path for overcoming the roadblocks described above. If you have any questions or comments about these decisions, please direct them to communications@wwpool.org.

The Wedgwood Pool Board