Update: Assembly spares downtown pool, Douglas gym from budget cut list

Update | 6:42 p.m.

At its finance committee meeting this evening, the Juneau Assembly removed the Augustus Brown Swimming Pool and Mt. Jumbo Gym from a list of possible cuts.

The vote was 6-3 to spare the pool and 8-1 to spare the gym.

Original story | 5:32 p.m.

Students from Juneau-Douglas High School use the pool for an athletics program on Wednesday. (Photo by Jacob Resneck/KTOO)

Cost cutting efforts at the City and Borough of Juneau continue as the Juneau Assembly mulls closing the downtown pool and a gymnasium in Douglas.

Both are on the list of Parks and Recreation facilities facing closure. That’s because the Assembly is trying to fill a $1.9 million deficit without raising taxes. Limiting pool hours would save about $44,000. But shutting it down would save $562,100 annually.

Previous efforts to shutter the pool were scuttled due to public outcry.

“There’s some pretty passionate people about not wanting to close the pool,” Parks and Recreation Director Kirk Duncan said. “Quite frankly I’m really glad I’m not an Assembly member and don’t have to make those decisions. I think all of the Parks and Rec facilities are very important to the community, but also I recognize that we have some tough times.”

Even if the Assembly spares the downtown pool this year, the facility will need significant investment.  The building is about 45 years old and nearing the end of its lifespan.

“Augustus Brown pool has been here for many years,” Duncan said. “We estimate that it needs about $4.5 to $5 million in repairs. So that’s the long-term issue — how are we going to fund those repairs?”

Juneau has a more modern swimming pool: The Dimond Aquatic Center in the Mendenhall Valley. But Juneau-Douglas High School students would lose a pool literally next door and downtown residents would have to travel.

In downtown Douglas, the Mount Jumbo Gym is also on the proverbial chopping block.

Buckets catch water from a roof leak inside the Mt. Jumbo Gym in Douglas on Wednesday.
Buckets catch water from a roof leak inside the Mt. Jumbo Gym in Douglas on Wednesday. (Photo by Jacob Resneck/KTOO)

“It was built as a school,” Facilities Superintendent Brent Fischer said. “The gym was built in 1941, the school was built in 1937. It was part of the school district.”

The former Douglas High School building gym is now used as community space serving preschoolers, adults and everyone in between.

“We get a lot of adults and youth using this, so it’s a good venue for the community,” Dave Pusich, the city’s recreation manager. “It gives them another outlet because there’s not a lot of gym space available.”

Pusich grew up in Douglas and says the former high school is somewhat of a community landmark.

“We also have lots of birthday parties on the weekends — it’s real busy,” he said. “We have a bouncing house we set up, lots of toys, so it’s pretty popular and it’s affordable.”

Closing this gym would save less than $10,000 a year. But there are serious maintenance issues. The roof leaks. Patching things up would cost about $688,000. Renovations have been estimated to cost another $1.3 million. And to totally rehab the building so it’d be good for another 25 to 30 years would increase the cost to $4.8 million.

The Assembly’s budget deadline isn’t until June. With minimal publicity, public comment is already arriving by email with more than a dozen emails urging the Assembly to save these and other facilities whose futures remain uncertain.

Editor’s Note: Kirk Duncan is a member of KTOO’s board of directors.

Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska

Jacob Resneck is CoastAlaska's regional news director based in Juneau. CoastAlaska is our partner in Southeast Alaska. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

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