For eight years, the 70,000-gallon pool sitting behind the Mount Vista Homeowners Association recreation center has sat unused.
Green grime covers the bottom and sides of the pool, turning the once-clear water murky. The plastering on the pool surface is deteriorating, creating spaces for pathogens and algae to live.
Last month, Clark County Public Health officials said the pool is considered a “public health hazard” in its current condition. The homeowners association’s insurance company is now looking into the situation, potentially putting the organization’s coverage in jeopardy.
On June 15, the HOA board of directors voted to take action after eight years of status quo. The board voted to spend up to $30,000 from its reserves to drain and remove the pool.
The action, however, has sparked outcry from homeowners who want to see the pool repaired or replaced and others who say the board should have taken a vote of all homeowners before deciding to devote so much money to destroying community-owned property.
“The pool was the biggest reason I bought a house in this neighborhood,” said Jesse Schrater, who moved into the Mount Vista neighborhood 16 years ago. “I have always been in the camp of wanting a pool.”
The board majority argues they made the tough decision because it was best for the community.
“We’re not going to please everyone at one time,” said Lisa Schmidt, board president. “We’ve made the hard decision.”
The Mount Vista Homeowners Association manages a nearly 40-year-old neighborhood near Washington State University Vancouver. The neighborhood includes 431 homes and 6 acres of common property. That land houses the recreation center and pool, three tennis courts, three parks, a basketball court, a beach volleyball court and children’s playground equipment.
After 40 years, much of that common property has begun to age, Schmidt said.
The HOA board is made up of nine homeowners who are elected to three-year terms and are tasked with managing the association and maintaining the common property. The association uses homeowner fees to operate and maintain the property.
Over the years, inflation increased faster than homeowner dues, which are regulated by association rules created when the development was built, said board member Dave Pfaff.
“As the facilities age, the replacement costs are going to be higher than you may think they will be,” he said.
Like a homeowner with an aging roof, if you don’t save for repairs, you may be “unpleasantly surprised” with repair costs you can’t afford, Pfaff said.
That’s the position the board found itself in about eight years ago.
“Dues did not cover the operation of the pool and the maintenance of the pool,” said Pfaff, who moved into the neighborhood in 1977. “To continue the pool, they would have to defer other areas.”
The board of directors at that time made the decision to close the pool.
Each year since, the board has looked for ways to reopen the pool. Each year, the board finds it cannot afford make the repairs needed to reopen the pool, Pfaff said.
According to the health department, the list of needed repairs for the pool is long: the backwash water needs to be connected to the sanitary sewer; the pool needs to be replastered; the pool and wading pool need separate pump filtration systems; the flow rate on the pool is inadequate; the decking needs repair; the fencing needs to be secured; diaper-changing tables are required in each bathroom; and indoor flooring needs to be nonslip and provide sufficient drainage.
In 2010, the board began the decommissioning process by removing the pool’s pumps and plumbing. The board also paid to put a cover on the pool.
A few years ago, the board proposed building a new clubhouse and a new pool. Doing so would require a special assessment — an added cost to HOA fees — and needed a supermajority vote of homeowners.
The HOA board got bids to repair and replace the pool and clubhouse, ranging from $389,300 to $673,300. The board put the options before the homeowners for a vote; they all failed to gain 60 percent support.
Earlier this year, the board once again solicited bids to repair the pool. They invited 10 contractors to bid. Not one would take on the task of repairing the pool, Schmidt said. The pool, they said, needed to be replaced, Schmidt said.
No bids, coupled with the health department’s determination that the pool is a public health hazard and the HOA insurance company investigating the situation, led the board to vote 5-4 to remove the pool, the wading pool and the decking.
Doing so, Schmidt said, would remove the potential risk and financial liability the HOA faces by keeping an inoperable pool.
Because the board is using money from its reserves and not asking homeowners for money, the board was not required to take a vote of homeowners. While it wasn’t required, some homeowners argue a vote should have taken place.
Typically, the board makes minor decisions on maintenance. But bigger decisions have always gone to the homeowners, Schrater said.
“The community has long demanded a say in major decisions,” said Schrater, who served on the board from 2011 to 2013. “We didn’t even know this was up for discussion until we heard the board voted to destroy it.”
In addition, Schrater said the move will take a big chunk out of the HOA’s reserves, which currently have about $59,000.
While past votes to repair or replace the pool failed to garner a supermajority, they did garner majority support, Schrater said. One time the board held a vote to demolish the pool; that failed with less than 20 percent approval, he said.
“You have a large group of people in this community that want the pool,” Schrater said. “We may differ in the details. We may differ in the cost. But we want a pool.”
Schmidt, Pfaff and Joe Mendoza, the board’s vice president, said they’re among the pro-pool group. They see demolishing the old pool as the first step in building a new pool.
Once the pool is removed, they want to go back to the homeowners to come up with proposals for moving forward, whether that’s replacing the pool, putting in water features or going without a pool.
“I hope the light at the end of the tunnel is that we can finally do something,” Schmidt said.
