MONTE VISTA – A week after getting no official support from the Monte Vista City Council, the SLV Aquatics group was back before the same governing body for a work session on March 13. 

SLV Aquatics is making it second attempt in the past 6 months to get its $24 million aquatic center project before Rio Grande County voters. The Rio Grande County Board of Commissioners denied a similar request from the group in December of 2024. 

San Luis Valley Aquatics representatives Grace Young and Jenny Nehring gave a brief presentation to the South Fork Town Board on Feb. 25, asking the town to send a letter of support for the $24 million project. South Fork officials did not get behind the project. 

Monte Vista officials did the same during their meeting on March 6. 

The proposed aquatics center would cost an estimated $24 million and would include a proposed 6.5 mill levy (property tax) for bond financing: 4% over 35 years to build the facility. A proposed 2.0 mill levy (property tax) to generate $445,000 annually toward the projected $650,000 annual operating costs to sustain the pool. The total 8.5 mill levy will cost property owners $4.75 per month per $100,000 of property value. According to state regulations, agricultural properties of 40 acres or more would be exempt from the property tax. 

The latest proposal, according to SLV Aquatics, has a lower total mill levy than the one in December. 

Approximately 25 people attended the MV City Council work session. No public comments were taken during the session. SLV Aquatics made a formal presentation and answered questions from the council. 

Councilman Loren Howard joined the meeting by Zoom.  

Jenny Nehring of SLV Aquatics thanked council members for the meeting and stated it was something that should have taken place a long time ago. Nehring added that they would be giving a power point presentation, and she hoped that council members would ask questions as they would arise.  

SLV Aquatics board member at-large Colleen Vanderpool started the session with a PowerPoint presentation of the aquatic center. She explained there would be two main pools – one being a six-lane 25-yard pool. She stated that the pool would be a total of 3,365 square feet with an 84-degree temperature. She explained it would have a diving board, and a climbing wall. 

“We would also have scuba diving lessons, paddle board lessons, water polo, lifeguard recertification, and regional meets in this pool,” Vanderpool said. 

She then showed the other pool which she called a leisure pool. 

“It’s 3,500 square feet, and 91 degrees, so it’s a little bit larger, and warmer. It has no entry, which means there’s no stairs, you walk into it, it’s shallow and it gets a little bit deeper as you go into it,” she said. 

She pointed out a play area in the pool, and an area she called a “lazy river,” explaining that it was a moving water apparatus. She showed dressing rooms, and an office, with an area for supplies and mechanical items. 

She said the reason she wanted to show council members the bigger picture to the pool was to show them that there is a lot there, stating that the ideas and things that people could do in the pool are endless.  

She said the pool project could potentially provide 120 to 168 temporary jobs over a two-year period during its construction. She said there would also be the potential for four full-time jobs, three part-time jobs, and up to 15 lifeguard jobs.  

Board member Nehring explained the mill levy and said that a special park and recreation district would be created. 

Councilman Brad Watson said he would rather see this attached to a sales tax, versus a mill levy. 

Nehring answered, “Because we approved a one-cent sales tax in 2019. We only have 1.3 cents left before the cap on the maximum sales tax is reached.”  

SLV Aquatics also showed what they would charge for entrance to the pool, with them charging more to enter for non-residents. It was stressed that prices would be kept low. They want to see people able to come to a pool without having to drive a long way.  

“We are really focusing on affordability in appreciation of our residents paying into the mill levy,” Nehring said.  

Councilman Jason Lorenz asked if the mill levy would completely cover everything. Nehring said no. Lorenz posed the question of how many patrons they would need to cover everything.  

Young said that 67% of the mill levy would be for costs to operate the pool and the rest would come from other funds such as cover charges, and program fees from the schools.  

Lorenz asked how they would cover that 33% if the other was not enough. Lorenz said that if he misses 33% in a business, he would go out of business. 

Nehring said they estimated families, children and individual residents paying for cover charges and memberships, and that would be around $250,000 and that didn’t include anyone who would pay program fees, or scuba or swimming lessons, or physical therapy which could potentially generate more revenue. Young also said they would be consistently writing grants to help fund families with scholarships for the pool.  

SLV Aquatics stated that they had gotten many of their statistics from the Adams State pool and its operational management.  

Mayor Dale Becker said that 33% was concerning to him.  

Becker pointed out that school funding had been cut, so even projects from schools could be limited and it could get hard on parents if they had to fund the costs for their children to go swimming in school. 

Nehring stated that there are currently schools who have a swimming program and bus their children all the way to the Hooper pool and these schools would save money on the transportation costs alone with the aquatic center being built, stating that over time the center would save the schools a lot of money.  

Becker said that he had heard their presentation three different times, and that it had changed all three times, so they need to make it across the board clearer. 

Nehring said that the presentations vary in their slides, but the messaging and the costs are all the same.  

SLV Aquatics will be making their presentation to the Rio Grande County commissioners, who will then decide it will go before voters in a special election. 

For more information on San Luis Valley Aquatics, visit slvaquatics.org.