Into the Deep End: Proposition 1 and the Shoreline Pool

David Mendez/The Osprey

By David Mendez

The Osprey

On Nov. 3, Shoreline voters will decide whether or not to finance a new community pool. Supporters think it lays a foundation for the future. Opponents say they can't bear another tax increase.

Shoreline is a city of neighborhoods: 14 neighborhoods, spread across 6 miles, spanning Interstate 5 and two state highways. There are two libraries, a handful of commercial hubs, light rail stations, transit stops and too many parks to list.

One thing it doesn’t have is a public pool — not anymore, anyway. And it’s never really had a town center.

Proposition 1, if approved by voters in the Nov. 3 general election, might change both of those facts.

What you need to know

Shoreline’s Proposition 1, if approved, would create a tax district with the purpose of paying for and maintaining a new public pool facility in the city.

Prop. 1 would create a special tax district — a Metropolitan Park District — intended to build and operate a new pool facility and, down the road, a new recreation center or parks in Shoreline.

If approved, the MPD would add an initial property tax levy of $0.55 per $1,000 of a property’s estimated value — or $550 annually on a $1 million home.

The city wants to finance $100,000,000 for the project. That would finalize purchasing the land, pay for soft costs (including a final design) and building the aquatic center. MPD tax revenue would also pay for facility maintenance and operations.

Prop. 1 is intended to fund a replacement for the city’s previous pool, which closed for good in 2020 at nearly 50 years old. It’s Shoreline’s second attempt to finance a pool in the last 10 years, and city leaders are hoping that voters will accept that it’s smaller in scope than the previous plan. 

The construction plan leaves room for the city to build out the property with another community space, like a park or a new recreation center, at a place reasonably accessible from all across the city. If all goes according to plan, it would mean a new civic center and hub of activity to draw folks to Shoreline.

The problem is the price tag, and the property tax that would follow. Shoreline plans to finance $100 million to get the job done, including paying off the debt on the land, completing the aquatic center’s design, then building the whole thing. But the property tax wouldn’t end when the center is built; it’s expected to last in perpetuity — or at least until its funding mechanism, a metropolitan park district, is dissolved.

Some opponents to the proposition say they’d be OK with the pool if it simply cost less. But supporters worry that this may be the city’s last bite at the apple.

“My personal opinion is, I think the city’s done a lot of work. And I think this is our shot,” said Susie McDowell, a pool proponent and long-time local high school swim coach. “If it doesn’t happen, it’s not happening.”

Continue reading here:

• How we got here

• Proposition 1 and the numbers

• Too much money, not enough return?

• Controlling destinies

• The time is now

• Where can I drop off my ballot?