City of Condon draws a red line for Condon Community Pool

The Condon Community Pool has provided people from Condon and the surrounding area with a quality source of entertainment and exercise for many years. But after several years of climbing costs to maintain the pool, the Condon City Council is asking for significant upgrades to be made.

The Condon swimming pool was built sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. It is owned by the Condon School District.

In 2011, the City of Condon established a partnership with the Condon School, agreeing to lease it at no cost and to maintain its operations with support from Gilliam County.

Condon City Administrator Kathryn Greiner told the Gilliam County Court on September 4 that the pool needs to have a master plan created by a specialist.

Later that night, Greiner worked with the Condon City Council, who approved of the creation of a master plan for the pool. Greiner said that it is time to either fix the pool or to consider closing it.

The City of Condon has dedicated $50,000 a year in county funds to cover staffing and operations expenses at the pool. But with serious issues in the pool's infrastructure, the cost of running the pool has become unsustainable, Greiner said. Having an engineer come and do a full assessment will give the city council the knowledge it needs to move forward.

Aging pools in the area have become a serious problem in recent years. A new pool was built in Heppner several years ago through a parks taxing district.

In John Day, voters turned down a bond that would have built a new pool in 2018. The old pool is not functioning and there is no community pool. The estimated cost for building a new pool in John Day was $4.2 million in 2018.

Greiner told the Gilliam County Court that with improvements needed for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the cost could go up to $7 million for a new pool in Condon.

At the city council meeting, council members said that the pool is an essential part of summer for area youth. Shellie Johnson, who oversees the pool's staff and operations over the summer, said that the pool served more than 2,000 swimmers this year.

Beyond kids in Condon, youth from Fossil and Arlington also regularly come to swimming lessons and for recreation.