Fundraising Status. The City Pool creates active play spaces for the youth in Red Lodge as well in greater Carbon County. The community relies on the facility as an accessible and affordable place for social recreation and to provide lifelong skills through the Learn to Swim program. Adults use the pool for exercise, lap swimming, and simple enjoyment. The Pool was the primary venue to recreate and learn water safety, averaging 800 to 1000 swimmers per summer month. Many of the users can ride bikes or walk to the pool. Based on historical records approximately 500 youth have taken advantage of the lunch program at the pool.
Visitors to Red Lodge rely on the pool as a safe, supervised location for their children. Red Lodge, a community of 2,200, has, according to Montana Tourism & Recreation Dept, approximately 275,000 summer tourists annually.
In December 2020 the Pool Committee prepared a detailed business plan and developed a strategy to raise funds to help the city fund Phase I and to cover all the costs associated with Phase II. We prepared promotion materials such as brochures and video clips. We signed a fiscal agreement with the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation giving us the 501(c)(3) status. The Foundation receives and administers the donations, placing the funds in a separate designated pool account until needed.
We took advantage of the foundation's ability to prepare newsletters, contact potential donors, and provide some grant writing expertise. The foundation-administered 2021 Fun Run generated a record $36,829 for the pool.
To date, the Pool Committee has raised $1.4 million in cash and pledges. Early in the process $325,000 was given to the city to help cover the cost of Phase I, reducing their loan obligation to $1.52 million. An additional $30,000 has been placed in a designated Pool Endowment account to help defray future operation and maintenance expenses. The remaining $1.045 million will be applied to Phase II which includes a complete pool house renovation, a 7-feature splash pad, a deck-mounted waterslide, a shade pergola, and solar hydro heating. It should be noted that there have been some independent fundraising activities that raised funds to support this effort. The Festival of Trees and the Bearcreek Pig Race are just two examples of this support.
The total cost of Phase II is $1.247 million. To complete the project with all the Phase II amenities we need to raise an additional $227,627. To that end, we continue to identify applicable grants and continue to pursue potential donors. To date, we have received donations from over 1,100 individual donors, foundations, and/or businesses. Construction continues and the new ADA compliant pool is on schedule to reopen no later than June 21, 2022.
As we get closer to the pool opening the Council will consider and discuss Resolution 3598 which amends the duties of the existing Pool Committee, directing them to review and recommend plans and programs to help the pool achieve optimal operation. This seven-member committee will report directly to Public Works Director and the Mayor.
This project has truly been a team effort with the community, the city, independent fundraisers, and the foundation working together to build a pool that the community will be proud of.
As mentioned above, as of this writing we are $227,627 short of our goal. We have sent inquiries and or applied to three separate charitable foundations. Those applications are pending. We continue to contact potential donors to help us with this project. If you or a friend are able and willing to help us reach our goal and want to join the list of over 1,100 donors, donations can be made by checks payable to:
Thank you for your support of this very worthwhile project.
A detailed breakdown of the fundraising totals and goals can be seen by clicking here.
