by Claire Anderson | Feb 5, 2025 | News
February 4, 2025
Lopez pool to open this year; local school kids to benefit
NANCY DEVAUX of the Salish Current
The Lopez Island Public School community made a splash on Jan. 21 in support of the much-anticipated Lopez Swim Center, now under construction on Pool Lane and slated to open later this year.
The swim center is privately owned by the nonprofit Friends of Lopez Pool (FLIP), but it will provide opportunities for public use, including residents from other islands. About 250 students from the Lopez Island School District (LISD) will be given scheduling priority during school hours.
“Our partnership with the Lopez Swim Center is driven by our shared goal that every student will graduate knowing how to swim” said Martha Martin, Lopez school district K–12 principal.
A major impetus for building a pool on the island was that 90% of Lopez school students aren’t able to swim, according to FLIP’s website. San Juan County is one of only two counties in the state without a public or school district pool.
MORE: Read the full article here,
by Claire Anderson | Feb 4, 2025 | News
Click on the photo above to see the Lopez SPLASH MOB in action!
Exciting news! A total of $786,000 was put into the Governor’s proposed capital budget to support completion of the Lopez Swim Center, but our District 40 legislators and State budget chairs need to hear from YOU to ensure the funding is approved.
The proposed funds include a $523,000 local and community projects direct appropriation and a grant of $263,000 from the 2025-2027 Youth Recreational Facilities program.
YOUR voice matters! Please take two minutes today to write a heartfelt e-mail explaining why supporting the Lopez Swim Center is important for our community.
Having writer’s block? No worries—we’ve included several sample messages below to cut, paste, and customize (if you want)!
To make it easy, email to director@lopezislandpool.org and we will forward your message
— OR —
For more impact, EMAIL DIRECTLY by copying and pasting these email addresses into your email: Liz.Lovelett@leg.wa.gov, Alex.Ramel@leg.wa.gov, Debra.Lekanoff@leg.wa.gov, Steve.Tharinger@leg.wa.gov, Yasmin.Trudeau@leg.wa.gov, director@lopezislandpool.org
Together, we can secure these vital funds for Lopez Swim Center and foster a healthier future for our island community.
SAMPLE MESSAGES:
Subject: Please Support the Lopez Swim Center!
I am writing to express my heartfelt support for the Lopez Swim Center and urge you to support the proposed funding of $786,000 in the Governor’s budget to help complete the Lopez Swim Center, which is currently under construction. With your support, it’s expected to open in late this year!
The Swim Center fulfills a vital public-safety role on our island, where only 8% of Lopez elementary students passed the basic Red Cross Swim test. San Juan County is one of only two counties in Washington without a public or school pool.
The Swim Center will also provide a year-round place for our community’s many seniors, with warm water helping mobility, fitness, and recovery from injuries. It will be an essential community hub.
I urge you to consider the significant impacts the Swim Center will have on our community and to strongly support its funding.
Sincerely,
[Your Name & Location]
This is such an exciting time for children who live on Lopez Island—and all its residents! After years of work and successful fundraising, the Lopez Swim Center has reached the construction stage. We know that the many carefully planned programs in the Center’s two pools, including school PE, swim lessons, aquatic fitness and physical therapy, plus water safety and lifeguard training, will soon be a reality.
This is a time for dreams to come true, but it is also a time of urgency to complete fundraising in step with the Center’s final construction. We urge you to support the Governor’s recommendation in the capital budget so we can complete this important project that will transform the community. Thank you for your past significant work and support for the Lopez Swim Center!
Sincerely,
[Your Name & Location]
I am delighted to report that the Lopez Swim Center, a community project, is now fully under construction! Everyone on Lopez is grateful for the past support and interest shown by you and your fellow legislators. The cheers thrown up last week and pool noodles waved by more than 125 Lopez School District students who crowded into the largest pool were meant for you, too!
This is a wonderful cause for celebration, but also cause for urgency to complete fundraising in step with the final phase of construction. Everyone on Lopez—young and old, active and infirm, well off and struggling—urges you to support former Governor Inslee’s recommendation in the Capital Budget for an allocation for the Lopez Swim Center. This project is transforming our island community by building a year-round, all-ages, all-abilities community facility for fitness, learning, and healing.
Sincerely,
[Your Name & Location]
In the entire state of Washington, San Juan County is one of only two counties without a public or school pool. Not surprisingly, 92% of elementary-aged children on Lopez Island are unable to pass a Red Cross swimming test. By constructing a community Swim Center, Friends of Lopez Island Pool (FLIP) is looking to reverse that trend. The Lopez Swim Center is currently under construction and slated to open late this year. However, we need your support of the Governor’s capital funding request submitted for this year’s budget for us to achieve this goal.
I would greatly appreciate your support of this funding for the Lopez Swim Center.
Sincerely,
[Your Name & Location]
First, I want to thank you for your past support to help us build the Lopez Swim Center, a crucial community resource that will have significant impacts on the lives of islanders, both young and old. Currently, it’s estimated that 92% of Lopez elementary-aged students cannot pass a basic Red Cross swim test. The Swim Center will help turn this tide, with the goal of every child learning to swim by graduation! A large segment of our population is over age 60, and the Swim Center will also play a vital role for improving the health and wellness of many island seniors, whether that’s through aquatic aerobics classes, aqua physical therapy, or lap swimming. We’re asking you to approve the funding request in the current proposed budget to help us close the funding gap and complete the Swim Center.
Sincerely,
[Your Name & Location]
Construction has started on our Lopez Swim Center, an essential year-round, all-ages, all-abilities community hub fostering water safety, wellness, fun, and fitness. While we hope to have construction completed by the end of this year, that will only be possible with your help. We strongly urge you to approve the capital budget recommendation for the Lopez Swim Center.
Sincerely,
[Your Name & Location]
After 15 years of planning and fundraising, construction of the Lopez Swim Center is finally underway. The goal is to complete the pool facility by the end of this year. But while we’re continuing our fundraising, we need your help to help close the gap.
Every county in the state of Washington has a community pool—except for San Juan County and one other. This lack is even more significant given the fact that 92% of Lopez Island elementary students are unable to pass a basic Red Cross swimming test. The Lopez Swim Center’s mission is to turn this tide, with the goal of every Lopez child learning crucial, life-saving swimming and water-safety skills. The year-round Swim Center will benefit islanders of all ages and all abilities, offering a safe haven for fitness, fun, and friends. For the health and wellness of San Juan County islanders, I’m asking you to put your support behind this capital funding recommendation.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
[Your Name & Location]
by Claire Anderson | Sep 1, 2024 | News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | August 2024
Construction Begins on Lopez Swim Center; Local Contractors Chosen for Project
The long-awaited construction of the Lopez Swim Center, located on 2.5 acres just off Center Road, is officially underway, marking a significant milestone for islanders. With two pools—one four-lane lap pool and one warmer-water wellness pool—the Center promises to be a beacon of health, wellness, and recreation for residents and visitors of all ages.
Friends of Lopez Island Pool (FLIP) board and committee members were on hand for the first shovel in the ground. Plans are underway for a community event to celebrate this milestone moment later this fall.
Sage Building Solutions, owned by longtime Lopezians Jenny and Doug Poole, is the general contractor for the project. They bring their expertise and commitment along with Donnie Poole as site superintendent. Other local contractors are involved: MR Buffum of Lopez Sand & Gravel is currently doing excavation and site work; local architects Lois and Bob Wardell of Wardell Architects are helping shepherd the project; and Tom Froning of Lopez-based design-build firm Soundesign is FLIP’s Owner’s Representative.
“There has been a tremendous response by local contractors to help bring this long-awaited vision to reality,” says Executive Director Anne Marie MacPherson, “and to do so in the most cost-effective way possible.”
Construction kicked off with site mobilization and preparation during the first week of August. Utilities are getting placed and, once site grading is complete, excavation for the two pools will begin. The steel-framed Myrtha pools purchased earlier this year are already in storage on-site.
Construction is expected to take about 12 months, with the Swim Center slated to open in Fall 2025. Final fundraising efforts will run synchronously with the construction project to complete the capital campaign.
The Swim Center will be a year-round place for the community and visitors alike to come together for fun, fitness, and healing. From community gatherings to outdoor BBQs on the lawn; to exercise classes and physical therapy; from lap swimming to camps and family Dive-In Movie nights, the Swim Center will have something to offer everyone. In the summer, the pools will be open-air, so that swimmers can bask in the sunshine. In the winter, the pools will be enclosed within a heated, air-supported structure, which offers significant cost-savings upfront compared to a conventionally built natatorium.
Operating as a nonprofit, the Swim Center will be open to the public but will not rely upon property tax monies or levies. Instead, user fees (including memberships, drop-in and weekly passes), fitness class and training fees, summer and winter camp tuition, and special event and facility rentals will support the Center’s financial viability, now and in the future. Scholarships, sponsorships, and discounted memberships will ensure all who want to swim can join the fun. (For more details on proposed membership tiers, visit FLIP’s website.)
The Center is currently recruiting skilled swimmers, aged 15 and up, to participate in lifeguard certification training in preparation for paid positions as lifeguards, junior lifeguards, and swimming instructors. The first informational meeting this fall will be on Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Lopez Library’s meeting room.
As operations unfold, FLIP is looking for more community members to join the inaugural crew and help with events and prepare for opening day! Visit www.lopezislandpool.org/volunteer.
