(9/6/2019: Newburg, OR)
Newberg, Oregon lies 40 miles to the southwest of Camas. It's a rapidly growing suburb of Portland, and shares a population base similar to that of Camas, about 23,500 residents. In 2014, citizens of Newberg passed a $19.9 million bond to redevelop the City's 44-year-old community swimming pool facility.
Construction began on the facility in 2016, but by 2017, construction bills came in higher than expected on the project, causing the City to have to delay and actually trim some of the proposed features of the pool to cut costs. Facing a construction funding deficit, Newberg Parks and Rec were forced to find alternate ways to pay for the project's completion, which included a campaign to raise money from private organizations.
Newberg's nationally recognized Christian college George Fox University stepped up and made a private contribution of $500,000. “George Fox University has been a part of Newberg for more than 125 years and we want to continue to be a partner in the development of Newberg,” said George Fox President Robin Baker. If it hadn't been for GFU's gracious donation, completion of the project would have come to a screeching halt.
But what was the REAL cost of the deal to Newberg taxpayers? They were already on the hook for $19.9 million, and cost overruns had stripped many of the facility features voters bought into back in 2014. Hastily, for an emergency $500K contribution which represented less than 2.5% of the total construction cost borne solely by taxpayers- Newberg officials provided a big chunk of exclusive pool time to George Fox University, which they now use as their practice and meet facility for GFU Mens and Womens NCAA swim teams.
According to the Chehalem Park and Recreation District website, a 3-month “in-district” family membership costs $213. That's $852 per year on top of the bond tax. You'd think at a price that high, Newberg taxpayers should be able to swim and use the facility whenever they felt like it. But they can't. Because the brand new pool they paid to build is being used by private organizations for their exclusive use.
Look at the times Newberg taxpayers are actually allowed to use their new pool.
Leisure Pool Public Swim
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
7:00 - 8:30 PM
Monday - Friday
1:00 - 4:00 PM (Last swim is September 2nd)
Tuesday, Thursday
4:30 - 6:00 PM (Starts September 3rd)
Saturday
1:00 - 4:00 PM & 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Sunday
1:00-4:00 PM
Adult Lazy River & Spa (Hot Tub) Public Swim
Monday - Friday
5:30 - 9:30 AM; 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Monday - Friday
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Ages 50+)
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
6:00 - 7:00 PM
Monday, Wednesday
8:30 - 10:00 PM
Tuesday, Thursday
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Saturday
6:30 - 7:00 PM
Remarkably, residents paying for the almost $20M bond are given a very narrow window of time to actually use the facility. Why is the most important group of people, the folks in Town who are taking all the risks and providing all the capital to construct the center, playing second fiddle to private business? Why must their pool times be dictated by the exclusive schedules of private swim teams?
And what about the Club swim team that rents the pool because the City needs the money? When will their practices be scheduled? And how many more hours in the day will the taxpayers be kept out? Consider the unfair competitive advantage provided to the lucky team who gets to swim in the new pool. “Your team” practices in a brand new, state of the art $72 million natatorium- while the other team in town gets, well....whatever they have. And the best part is, you paid nothing for your team's new pool-instead allowing taxpayers to buy it for you.
The fact that swim teams will use the proposed Camas facility is expected. Asking them to pay a reasonable rent seems fair and should be openly discussed. But how much does the Camas High School Swim team pay to rent their pool space space now? Zero? Will they balk at paying rental fees to the city?
Perhaps the most frustrating part for Newberg taxpayers is that the construction cost overruns were so dramatic, they were unable to pay for even basic accessories that all competition pools require. Things like lane ropes. Last year, Oregon Masters Swimming rented the pool and held a swim meet in the brand new Newberg facility, but actually had to rent the lane ropes and starting blocks from the private swim team that uses the facility. That cost was in addition to renting the pool from Newberg. The facility was closed to the public for the entire day. Newberg Aquatic Center was able to rent the pool, but not the starting blocks and lane lines needed to actually conduct a swim meet. Those were extras they had to forfeit when the money ran out. Consider what would happen if the swim team had said no. There would have simply been no meet there. And Newberg would have completely missed that revenue opportunity.
Camas taxpayers should take note of the recent experiences of Newberg residents. Factor in the reality that the proposed Camas pool will cost 4 TIMES the amount of the Newberg pool- and that towns of similar size, similar economic makeup, similar wants and needs- have already been down this path, albeit in a facility nowhere near the size and risk of a $78 million dollar bond. The question is, will Camas residents actually learn anything from the REAL experiences of their neighbors?
The city of Camas should upgrade Goodwin road to reflect the increased traffic their construction (enhanced tax base) allowed on it before going on a new goodie shopping spree. Instead they downgraded it to a local access/speed trap.