Chief Executive Matt Vincent announced today an exciting community partnership that will lower the amount of the pool bond proposed to voters on the June 7 primary ballot from $8.7 Million to $7.2 Million. This reduction of $1.5 Million reflects the cost difference between a “basic” outdoor pool and the one proposed at $8.7 Million, which includes a water slide, a “lazy river” and other features the public said it wanted in a series of public forums and surveys held in 2014-15.
“I believe we have responded to the folks in our community who have questioned their ability to pay for an $8.7 Million facility with all the bells and whistles,” Vincent said. “Working with my team and our private sector partners, our citizens will now vote on a bond for the cost of the ‘basic pool’ only ($7.2 Million). Should our citizens choose to pass this bond, thanks to an innovative public-private partnership and the one-of-a-kind generosity found in Butte, we will be able to build our community a facility with all of the amenities it wants and needs.”
The $1.5 million reduction is achieved through a $500,000 grant from the Town Pump Charitable Foundation and a match of $500,000 from Butte-Silver Bow’s Capital Improvement Fund that Vincent will ask Commissioners to approve as part of the upcoming Fiscal Year 2016-17 budget. The remaining $500,000 or more is coming from a number of private, public and non-profit partners from across the community; over $300,000 has already been pledged in only six weeks.
“We are deeply grateful for the amazing contribution from the Kenneally family and Town Pump Charitable Foundation that makes this endeavor possible,” Vincent said. “I am equally grateful and am simply blown away by the generosity and vast support we have gained from other partners in our community in such a short time. Butte is a place like no other, and I am confident we will see the remaining $500,000 met or exceeded by the time the pool bond goes to our voters.” Other partners that have met the challenge thus far include the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID), Community Counseling and Correctional Services (CCCS), Markovich Construction, Swank Construction, Glacier Bank, O’Keefe Family, McGree Family, Ray Ueland and others to be named.
Again, voters will decide on the June 7 primary ballot whether to approve a bond to cover the $7,2 Million cost to construct a basic pool facility. If approved, the public-private partnership funds will kick in to add the $1.5 Million to build in the water slide, lazy river and other amenities that will make the Butte Community Pool a top-notch comprehensive facility for Butte-Silver Bow citizens and families to enjoy for generations to come.
According to estimates by the Butte-Silver Bow Department of Finance and Budget, the reduction in bonding from $8.7 to $7.2 Million saves the taxpayers over $2 Million over the 20-year life of the bond issue.