Wallace pool pursuing grant funding

WALLACE — The Wallace Swimming Pool and the expensive repair the facility needs are exploring some new opportunities for funding.

During a special session of the Wallace City Council on Friday afternoon, the council voted in favor of pursuing a community block grant to secure some of the funding needed to get the pool fixed.

“We will be asking for $225,000 and the grant is due by Sept. 21,” said Wallace City Clerk Kristina Larson. “Before we can submit the application we need to do an income study.”

That income study holds the key to that near-quarter of a million dollars.

According to Dorian Komberec with the Panhandle Area Council, in order to be eligible, Wallace will need to have an income survey completed that shows that the city’s households are at least 51% low-to-moderate income (LMI).

The most recent data show that Wallace’s LMI at 49.6%.

In February, it was reported that the city had $285,000 already dedicated to the pool, including $180,000 from three years of the pool’s annual operating budget, as well as various grants and donations.

That potential $225,000 from the block grant, paired with the money that the city already had, should put them over the $500,000 amount, which was the amount that was originally estimated to fix the pool.

There are still some questions surrounding the cost of fixing the pool.

Just before the COVID boom hit the U.S., the City Council had rejected a $818,260 bid from contractor S&L Underground.

At the June council meeting, three options for the pool were discussed, including doing the bare minimum to get the pool opened, starting the project demolition and then putting the project out in different phases, or not starting the project until the city has the funds to complete the project. Wallace City Engineer Jim Roletto advised the city that options one and two would end up costing Wallace more money.

Other options are still being pursued, such as possibly pursuing a bond.

The 2020 season is the third year in a row that Wallace’s pool has been unable to open after the pool kept losing large amounts of water overnight.

In 2019, the city hired engineering firm Terracon to take a look at the pool and give them an idea of the cost that would surround repairing the pool.

Terracon estimated $450,000, while Roletto thought it would be more around the half-million realm.

The Idaho Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) assists Idaho cities and counties with the development of needed public infrastructure.

The program is administered by Idaho Commerce with funds received annually from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Idaho CDBG funds are used to construct projects benefiting low- and moderate-income persons, help prevent or eliminate slum and blight conditions, or mitigate health and safety threats in local areas.