The Hough Pool, a philanthropist’s gift to the neighborhood that became an economic burden, will close on Feb. 28.
The news followed Wednesday’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Realvest, the real estate company founded and managed by Vancouver businessman Paul Christensen. Christensen dreamed up the pool, donated the money to build it — and propped up its budget recently.
Operating costs have been approximately $280,000 per year, according to Kate Sacamano, executive director of the Hough Foundation, which owns the facility. Realvest has covered as much as $125,000 of that, she said.
“With their recent filing, that money disappeared,” Sacamano said. “We couldn’t function without it.” The Hough Foundation has searched for other sponsors and grant possibilities, she said, but the times are just too tough.
“It’s a sign of the times, unfortunately,” she said. “This was an incredibly important asset to the community, and we are already receiving calls from longtime users who are very disappointed.”
A statement from the Hough Foundation, released Friday, said the pool will close so it can continue its other charitable works in the downtown Vancouver area.
“After a long and successful run, it is time for us to explore new uses for the facility,” the statement said. “Economic realities and the opening of several publicly funded, state of the art, swimming and exercise facilities have made it increasingly difficult to cover the operating costs of an aging facility while protecting valuable resources for our scholastic, mental health and counseling services in the Hough community.”
The Washington State School for the Blind last year opened its state-of-the-art Kennedy Fitness Center, which includes a six-lane, regulation-size pool — the largest of its kind in Southwest Washington. And the city’s Marshall Community Center pool, just one-half of a mile away, was renovated and expanded a few years ago.
Christensen, a local boy turned business tycoon, created the Hough Foundation in 1992 and through it donated the $1.2 million that built the pool, which opened in 1997. He envisioned the facility as a gift to a neighborhood in need, and it became the property of the city of Vancouver.
But the pool quickly turned into a money loser — rife with maintenance problems and in need of an annual city subsidy of more than $100,000. After flirting for years with closing the pool, the city returned the gift to the Hough Foundation in 2004. Christensen’s real estate firm, Realvest, was one of several underwriters that shouldered the financial burden again.
The six-lane, 75-by-45-foot pool at 1801 Esther Street has offered free swim lessons to children at adjacent Hough Elementary School, hosted local swim teams and provided recreation programs and classes for swimmers through Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation. It has a “zero-depth” slanted entry so people who can’t manage steps can wade right in from deck level, and an adjustable floor that can be raised to as little as 18 inches in depth to accommodate small children.
The foundation’s board of directors will assemble a panel of community leaders to figure out what’s next for the facility. It wants the building’s future uses to “augment the ongoing mission of the Hough Foundation,” according to the Friday statement.
Sacamano said that might mean converting it into an open-gym facility. She said the Hough Foundation will be meeting with city officials next week to discuss the matter.
The Hough Foundation sponsors several neighborhood programs aimed primarily at children who attend Hough Elementary School — including a school choir and music program, a lunch buddy program, a holiday food and gift basket program, a volunteer center at the school and a family services center providing mental health counseling and other social service support.
“The board felt very certain that (the family services center) is something we need to focus all our resources on,” Sacamano said.
Friday’s statement from the Hough Foundation says the group remains committed to providing “access to swimming lessons and water safety” for children and will continue its Pool Pal scholarship program. To find out about the program, and about exchanging current Hough Pool passes and punch cards for access to other facilities, call Sacamano at 360-992-7060.
