Movie nights are regularly held at the Brookings Municipal Pool. | Brookings Pool Facebook page

South Coast Community Aquatics will manage the Brookings municipal pool for a second season starting in June.

The Brookings City Council on Monday unanimously approved a new memorandum of understanding with the nonprofit organization, agreeing to pay SCCA a “base subsidy” of $80,000 for the 2024 season. The new agreement is set to automatically renew the following year.

“This would ultimately benefit the city and the community by providing a management structure that would require fewer city resources and potentially lengthen the pool season,” Public Works Director Tony Baron told councilors.

SCCA could request more funding if the costs to operate the pool exceeds its $80,000 subsidy from the city, Baron said. The organization is also seeking grant dollars, which would prompt the city to reduce that subsidy, he said.

Baron said the financial impact to the city to operate the pool is between $60,000 and $65,000, but staff wanted to make sure the SCCA could operate the pool successfully.

“[But] we don’t want to shut the pool down in the middle of the season because we can’t operate it,” Baron said. “We want to give them some kind of a buffer, so this is a number we agreed on.”

Brookings would still be responsible for maintaining the pool, though the city would partner with SCCA if they receive grants for capital projects at the facility, Baron said. There’s also the possibility of partnerships between SCCA and the Brookings-Harbor School District that could boost attendance at the pool, he said.

South Coast Community Aquatics entered into an MOU with Brookings last year to operate the pool for the 2023 season. According to the staff report from an Oct. 16 workshop, SCCA operated as city volunteers and were able to shadow and offer suggestions to pool staff.

The organization’s goal was to have a better understanding of swimming pool management and draft a long-term agreement with the city. SCCA also aimed to open the pool earlier in the season and close later, according to the staff report.

Following a survey SCCA asked the community to participate in on Sept. 5, 2023, organization representatives gave a power point presentation to the Brookings City Council at the Oct. 16 workshop.
According to the SCCA, 95 percent of those who responded to the survey said they would use the pool year-round if it was open and heated.

Last season, the pool generated about $87,259 in revenue from fees, food sales, lessons, pool rentals, movie and music night events and season passes. SCCA also received about $28,860 in grants from Advanced Health, the Curry Health Foundation and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, according to the organization’s presentation.

On Monday, SCCA President Val Early reiterated the organization’s pursuit of grant dollars. It has received two small grants and is waiting to hear how they fared on a larger grant, she said.

“It is our intention, and it’s clear in the management agreement also, that if we are able to secure funds, grants, and we have an overage, we will not keep the money from the city,” she said. “We will return it to the city.”

The Brookings Municipal Swimming Pool is open from June through August. Last summer, the pool received more than 10,000 uses, according to the SCCA’s Oct. 16 Power Point presentation.

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