City officials are considering wrapping construction of a new $12 million swimming pool into a combined $47.5 million bond that would also pay for rebuilding Kennewick City Hall, under a revised capital improvement program that runs through 2032, according to reporting by the Tri-City Herald, republished on Yahoo.
A new city hall built on its current footprint could cost roughly $35.5 million and take 18 months to design, followed by another 18 months to demolish the existing building and construct a replacement, the Herald reported. Combined with the $12 million pool, the total project would run $47.5 million.
City officials say the bond would not require a tax increase. Documents cited by the Herald show Kennewick would still have nearly $69 million in debt capacity as of Jan. 1, 2027, even after adding the full $47.5 million project.
City Manager Erin Erdman has floated a mixed funding approach rather than bonding for everything at once. "What we're probably looking at is we do have a good reserve within our capital fund. So we're hoping that we can replace the pool with our reserve funds. And then we would have to bond for the city hall project," she told AppleValleyNewsNow.
A pool well past its prime
The push for a new pool centers on the Kenneth Serier Memorial Pool at 315 W. 6th Ave., which opened in 1955 and last saw a significant upgrade in 1987, roughly three decades beyond the average useful lifespan of an outdoor aquatic facility, the Herald and AOL have reported.
The aging facility has struggled through repeated maintenance shutdowns, including a closure in late June and early July this year that ended just in time for the Fourth of July holiday, according to AOL's coverage. City staff warned earlier this year that the pool could fail within a few years, prompting a feasibility study now underway to examine whether to replace it, where it should go, and what amenities it might offer.
Resident demand appears to back the project. A 2024 Kennewick Parks and Recreation master plan survey found 56% of residents were "dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied" with the quality of the community's aquatics facilities, while about 73% said they'd be "very supportive" or "somewhat supportive" of building a new one, the Herald reported.
Mayor Jason McShane told the Herald the city needs to act: "We do need to do something to improve that for our current generation and future generations." Kennewick High School head girls swim coach Trine Lisa Tippett pressed for something bigger than a seasonal fix, telling the Herald, "We are too large of a community to settle for just two months of access."
City hall location still unresolved
Council members have debated for more than a year whether a new, roughly $35-36 million city hall should stay downtown or move to one of three other sites, including the Museum at Keewaydin property, a location near Sixth and Auburn, or another option, according to Tri-Cities Business News. Council has reportedly split roughly 60-40 in favor of staying downtown.
Erdman recently recommended extending the city hall request-for-proposals timeline so staff can study how a pool might fit into a broader civic campus master plan, according to CitizenPortal.ai's recap of a recent council meeting. No site has been chosen for either building, and no public vote or bond resolution date has been set.
The budget backdrop
The bond discussion comes as Kennewick works through an $11.4 million budget gap that has frozen police and fire hiring, a detail residents may want to weigh alongside officials' assurances that the $47.5 million bond won't raise taxes. It also runs alongside Kennewick School District's Oct. 15 deadline to lock in $61 million in state matching funds for school construction — another major local infrastructure decision moving on a parallel track this fall.
For now, the pool-and-city-hall plan remains in the study phase. Residents can check current pool hours and closures on the city's pool page, and watch for future council meetings where site selection and financing details are expected to come up for discussion.
