OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Yakima City Council Special Meeting: Pools Reopening Partnership - March 26, 2026

City Council — Thursday, March 26, 2026
BodyYakima, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, March 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 50:18

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

I would uh call this council special meeting to order at 6 03.

0:13

We're a little late, but thanks.

0:14

Well, look at all of you who joined us here tonight.

0:16

Thank you.

0:16

Uh roll call, please, clerk.

0:20

Brown.

0:20

Here.

0:21

Lynn?

0:22

Here.

0:22

Gonzalez.

0:23

Present.

0:24

Patrickus?

0:25

Here.

0:25

Roy?

0:26

Here.

0:27

Berg and Byers are absent and excused.

0:31

All right.

0:32

Well, we will move to public comment.

0:35

And tonight it looks like there is quite a few little forms here.

0:39

You are limited to two and a half minutes per uh person.

0:42

If you would like to do public comment, there's a form in the back.

0:45

You can bring it up here to the clerk.

0:48

And we are trying to limit it to 15 minutes tonight so that we can get to our agenda.

0:54

But if council would like to finish these through, we can determine at that point.

0:59

So first is uh John Whitney.

1:05

When he searched me.

1:06

Yep.

1:07

We do have a new timekeeper tonight, Miss Councilman Patricas.

1:11

So she will give you a little signal when you're close.

1:14

So, first of all, I just want to say thank you for um, you know uh working on the pool, continuing to not let this issue be dropped.

1:22

It's so important.

1:24

Uh my youngest son has had five birthday parties there at Lions specifically.

1:30

Two kids who have swam there on the swim teams.

1:34

Um as we know, just a quick, you know, refresh.

1:37

Swim teams start in Mar uh in August, and that's the girls, and it the season doesn't end until February with the boys.

1:45

Um so it's such a huge community resource for the city of Yakima, for everybody else.

1:52

We also I just want to recognize I don't know if she's gonna say it because she's super humble, but we have the 100 yard fly state champion for this year sitting in the house from Eisenhower.

2:03

So um, anyways, I hope she speaks later tonight.

2:05

And we would love the city to put the pool in the next biennium budget.

2:09

So that's really one I wanted to come here up here to say.

2:12

So thank you.

2:13

And we are working on trying to get uh money for this.

2:16

We love our state legislatures that they're over here working when it didn't work out in Olympia because we know how that can be a pretty thorny place.

2:23

So um just thank you.

2:25

It's it's a great place to be in Yakima on days like this.

2:27

So thank you.

2:28

Thank you, John.

2:30

All right, next is Carol Masterson.

2:40

Hello everyone.

2:41

Um I left copies of an email that I sent to the council and to the parks and rec department regarding restrooms and the parks.

2:49

They are now locked in all the parks, I understand.

2:52

I am uh in the neighborhood of Kissle Park.

2:55

I was helping with the original uh forming of Kinsel Park, so I have a vested interest in there.

3:02

Plus, I live there and I walk there just about every day.

3:06

Um I have talked with Ken Wilkinson about other options besides money.

3:13

Uh we haven't come up with anything yet, but I hope we do because I don't see as busy as that park is all year and as busy it is during the summer months with soccer, with daycares, with families, with walkers, with dog walkers, with people rehabbing from hip and knee injuries and stuff like that.

3:33

I don't see how we can run a park with no restroom.

3:36

I did ask Mr.

3:37

Wilkinson what it would cost to get a one porta potty.

3:40

I understand porta potties uh have a hard life in Yacoma.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Budget Equity Analysis█████████13%
Procedural███████10%
Public Engagement████5%
Economic Development███4%
Community Engagement██3%
Engineering And Infrastructure██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Yakima City Council Special Meeting: Pools Reopening Partnership - March 26, 2026

The Yakima City Council held a special meeting on March 26, 2026, at 6:03 PM to consider a public-private partnership proposed by Yakima County legislators to reopen city pools. The meeting was attended by Mayor Matt Brown and Councilmembers Rick Glenn, Felisa Gonzalez, Juliet Potrykus, and Leo Roy; Assistant Mayor Reedy Berg and Councilmember Patricia Byers were absent. After public testimony and discussion, the council voted unanimously to direct staff to prepare a resolution authorizing $230,000 from reserves for the immediate operation of Lions Pool and the repair and reopening of Franklin Pool.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • John Whitney (City resident) expressed strong support for reopening pools, noting his sons' swim team participation and the importance of a community resource. He urged the city to include pool funding in the next biennium budget and thanked state legislators for their efforts.
  • Carol Masterson (City resident) raised concerns about locked restrooms in city parks, particularly Kissle Park, and requested at least one porta potty (estimated $113/month) to address a public health issue.
  • Casey Kisser (City resident) spoke in favor of Lions Pool, citing its affordability ($57/month YMCA swim-only pass vs. $58 Athletic Club) and the social community formed there.
  • Ryan Anderson (City resident) supported the pool as a community asset, sharing a story about the Davis High School swim team and the value of learning to swim.
  • Ryan Hopkins (City resident, representing Yakima Chief Hops) argued the pool is essential for a healthy community and crucial for business recruitment, urging the council to keep it open.
  • America Murillo (City resident, senior at Davis High School) spoke passionately about Lions Pool as a community gathering place for swimmers from surrounding towns, strongly supporting its continued operation.
  • Jeanna Hernandez (City resident) spoke in favor of pools but urged caution, pointing out that Tri-Cities (similar population) has fewer public pools per capita, and stressing the need to address other priorities like public safety and park restrooms.
  • Lulu Dufault (County resident) briefly urged the council to donate money to Lions Pool.

Discussion Items

  • State Legislators' Presentation: State Rep. Chris Corry (15th Dist.), State Rep. Jeremie Dufault, and State Sen. Curtis King (14th Dist.) urged the city to partner in a community fundraising campaign. They reported $30,000 in commitments raised in 48 hours and expressed confidence in reaching the $120,000 target to open Lions Pool. Rep. Dufault suggested the city could provide one-time funds for Franklin Pool to qualify for future state operating funding in 2027.
  • Forbes Mercy's Donation: Local business leader Forbes Mercy presented a $10,000 check toward the effort and challenged other business leaders to contribute $10,000 each to meet the goal.
  • City Staff Input: Parks and Recreation Manager Ken Wilkinson and Recreation Program Supervisor Jason Zeller outlined challenges for Franklin Pool: an estimated $80,000 in repairs (leaking main drain and return line, causing 50,000–60,000 gallons of water loss per day), lifeguard staffing shortages, and a tight timeline (late March) for summer opening. Lions Pool could open within weeks if funded.
  • Council Deliberation: Mayor Brown noted $270,000 would be needed to open both pools ($120,000 for two months of Lions, $150,000 for Franklin plus repairs). Assistant City Manager Gary Ballew confirmed $230,000 was available from reserves. Council discussions emphasized finding a long-term funding plan (state operating budget in 2027) and not relying solely on one-time reserves. An amended motion was proposed.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote: The council passed an amended motion (5-0; Berg and Byers absent) to direct staff to prepare a resolution authorizing $230,000 from reserves for:
    • Lions Pool: operational funding for the next two months (until MLK Pool opens).
    • Franklin Pool: repairs to fix the main drain and return line leaks, plus operational costs to open for the summer season.
  • The resolution will be presented for final approval at the next regular City Council meeting on April 7, 2026, at 5:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers.
  • Adjournment: The meeting ended at 6:53 PM with a unanimous vote to adjourn.

Meeting Transcript

I would uh call this council special meeting to order at 6 03. We're a little late, but thanks. Well, look at all of you who joined us here tonight. Thank you. Uh roll call, please, clerk. Brown. Here. Lynn? Here. Gonzalez. Present. Patrickus? Here. Roy? Here. Berg and Byers are absent and excused. All right. Well, we will move to public comment. And tonight it looks like there is quite a few little forms here. You are limited to two and a half minutes per uh person. If you would like to do public comment, there's a form in the back. You can bring it up here to the clerk. And we are trying to limit it to 15 minutes tonight so that we can get to our agenda. But if council would like to finish these through, we can determine at that point. So first is uh John Whitney. When he searched me. Yep. We do have a new timekeeper tonight, Miss Councilman Patricas. So she will give you a little signal when you're close. So, first of all, I just want to say thank you for um, you know uh working on the pool, continuing to not let this issue be dropped. It's so important. Uh my youngest son has had five birthday parties there at Lions specifically. Two kids who have swam there on the swim teams. Um as we know, just a quick, you know, refresh. Swim teams start in Mar uh in August, and that's the girls, and it the season doesn't end until February with the boys. Um so it's such a huge community resource for the city of Yakima, for everybody else. We also I just want to recognize I don't know if she's gonna say it because she's super humble, but we have the 100 yard fly state champion for this year sitting in the house from Eisenhower. So um, anyways, I hope she speaks later tonight. And we would love the city to put the pool in the next biennium budget. So that's really one I wanted to come here up here to say. So thank you. And we are working on trying to get uh money for this. We love our state legislatures that they're over here working when it didn't work out in Olympia because we know how that can be a pretty thorny place. So um just thank you. It's it's a great place to be in Yakima on days like this. So thank you. Thank you, John. All right, next is Carol Masterson. Hello everyone. Um I left copies of an email that I sent to the council and to the parks and rec department regarding restrooms and the parks.

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