Sanders County Ledger - Your Best Source For Sanders County News

The City of Thompson Falls is excited to re-open the pool this summer after staffing issues and needed repairs caused the pool to stay closed for the 2023 season.

“We’re very excited that the pool is going to open,” City Clerk Chelsea Peterson said last week. Mayor Rusti Leivestad said she is looking forward to the return of the water aerobics program.

The city has restructured management of the pool, eliminating the pool director position. The city will hire 10 lifeguards for the season, and three of those will work as pool managers.

Lifeguards will be trained in Plains and the city hopes to open the pool on June 10, with swim lessons and water aerobics starting June 17. One session of water aerobics will be held 8:30-9:30 a.m. daily. Adult lap swim will also be open 8:30-9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, and the pool will be available to the public for open swim 1-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Mayor Leivestad said in past years, it was fun to see the continuity of the lifeguards. “Thompson Falls could use every single opportunity to come together as a community,” she added. She said she also worried about the safety of people swimming in the river last year with the city pool being closed.

Leivestad said the fees for using the pool will be the same as in 2022. Season passes for children and adults will be $45, with a family pass remaining at $65. Daily rates will be $1 for children 2 and under, $3 for children 4-18 and $4 for adults. Lessons will be $30 per session. Season passes will be available for purchase on the city’s website closer to the pool’s opening, Peterson noted.

The city performed upgrades to the pool while it was closed in 2023. Upgrades included new showers, a new pool deck and a new coating for the main pool and the toddler pool. The total project cost was $281,524.25. Of that, $37,000 was received in local donations, $123,646.69 from a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Land and Water Conservation Fund grant and $83,877.69 came from the city’s capital improvement fund. Peterson said the city has been setting aside money for the project since 2018. She noted that the city spent less than the original grant match estimate of $93,400 that was determined in 2018 due to donations from local organizations, including the Frisbie Morbella Foundation, Lone Star Odd Fellows, Blackfoot Communications, the Cabinet Ridge Riders and the Hecla Charitable Foundation.