The Pools are HERE | Winter Appeal Update | Interview with Pool Pro Stu Isaac

The Dream Has Arrived:
THE POOLS ARE HERE!

The two Myrtha pools arrived on Lopez on January 30th and are in storage on Pool Lane.

We are eagerly anticipating the culmination of the construction campaign to close the gap in fundraising. We’re almost there, and getting closer every day, thanks to your ongoing support. The Islands will Swim!

  Watch a Video of the Pools’ Arrival!  

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party_pooper_bday.jpgWinter Appeal Brings in More Than $720K!

We are thrilled to announce that our 2023 Winter Appeal was a tremendous success, raising $723,154.35! We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of our donors who generously contributed to this important fundraising effort. Thanks to your support, we are getting closer to construction. We truly could not have done it without you. You are making the dream come alive!

P.S. Did you donate to FLIP in 2023? If you’d like a duplicate report of your tax-deductible giving, we can help! Please contact info@lopezislandpool.org.

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“Pool Progress: Behind the Scenes of the Lopez Swim Center” is an eight-part informational series about the Lopez Swim Center. These articles are possible thanks to a Lopez Thrift Shop grant. This is part five of the series: FLIP interviews Stu Isaac of Isaac Sports Group, FLIP’s Aquatic Advisor.

Financial Sustainability & Membership at the Lopez Swim Center

FLIP: How did you approach this project?
Our first steps were to understand the unique elements of Lopez Island and how they impact the Swim Center’s development and operation. We viewed this through the lens of best practices that apply to all aquatic facilities, as well as our extensive research on Puget Sound area swim facilities.

What is the Center’s model for operating and how will it be affordable to all?
FLIP is a nonprofit business, combining the best of public and private swimming models. Similar to any business, it needs to be financially sustainable, but as a nonprofit, it also must be affordable to all. A financial assistance program was established to provide discounts of 50%, 75%, and, in special cases, 90%. This was one of the most important outcomes of our business planning.

The Center will not rely on levies or taxes for funding. Instead, it relies upon user fees and pool passes, which make up 65% of overall revenue. The estimates of pool-pass sales is also conservative, with Year One projections at only 68% of projected full use by Year Three.

Summer-season prices will reflect peak demand, and allow annual and monthly pool-pass prices to be kept low for the nonpeak season (eight months of the year). We strongly feel the pool-pass projections are very conservative. These projections assume that, by Year Two, only 14% of Lopez families with children under 18 will have an annual Swim Center family pool pass. The market penetration for seniors is even lower, with our senior annual pool-pass projections showing only 9% of Lopez seniors having passes. We estimate adult-specific annual pool-pass sales to only 10% of adult residents. Overall, we project that 19% of Lopez year-round residents will have some type of monthly or annual pool pass at the Swim Center.

Having two pools offers the ability for concurrent programming, providing more opportunities for fun and significantly bolstering the Center’s financial sustainability. A wide range of programs, such as swimming lessons, special events (birthday parties or sunset gatherings at the pool), facility rentals, and a variety of classes, will generate an additional 31% of gross revenue, with only 4% of the total revenue coming from annual fundraising.

…I am now very confident in the financial viability and the budget projections for the Swim Center­—and in the incredible game-changer the Center will be in the overall quality of life for all Lopez Island residents.

—Stu Isaac, FLIP Aquatic Advisor
Pools are expensive to run; how is this any different?
Expense projections were based on best-practice operations to keep the Swim Center safely operating for years to come. We worked closely with Water Technology Inc. (WTI), the project’s aquatic engineers, to identify key technologies that reduce maintenance costs, as well as energy, water, and chemical use. The operational savings pay for the incremental cost of the technology in the first two to three years of the Center’s operation; the return on investment over the long term is very good. Utility costs constitute less than 10% of total operating costs, which is also excellent. Staffing costs make up 60% of total operating costs, which is right in line with best-practice aquatic facilities around the country.The Center has made strategic decisions to limit costs. For example, instead of having a permanent water slide, FLIP will rotate flexible activities, from inflatable obstacle courses to pool log-rolling, which collectively cost just 20% of what a water slide would cost and do not require additional assigned lifeguards at the top and bottom of the water slide. Rotating activities keep programs fresh so that people want to come back. We feel that the expense model for the Swim Center is realistic and conservative.

What about long-term maintenance and equipment replacement?
FLIP secured an initial donor commitment of $510,000 to seed its Capital Reserve Fund (CRF). Our budget projections predict net annual revenue beginning in Year 3, which will allow the Center to allocate funds to the CRF over subsequent years, accruing $1.85M by Year 20. Besides the CRF, the Center’s budget provides best-practice maintenance funding to meet all equipment maintenance requirements and recommendations to limit unexpected capital maintenance needs.

What provides some assurance of the Center’s financial sustainability?
We worked with a bottom-up approach and only consolidated revenue and expense totals at the very end, without targeting specific financial results. This approach ensures the accuracy of our projection, and gives both FLIP and us strong confidence in the validity of the operating budget. Over the course of our research, program design, and development of the business model, I am now very confident in the financial viability and the budget projections for the Swim Center—and in the incredible game-changer the Center will be in the overall quality of life for all Lopez Island residents.