Sonoma council gives pool backers March deadline

<p>Momentum is building once again toward bringing a community pool back to Sonoma.</p><p>But as with numerous proposals, the current initiative hinges on where to put the pool — and who is going to pay for it.</p><p>The Sonoma City Council on Monday set a deadline of March for members of Citizens United for a Sonoma Pool, or CUSP, to present a plan.</p><p>The group, whose members include council members Tom Rouse and Ken Brown, is the latest to take on what has been a vexing issue for the city of 10,000. In 2005, a pool at Sonoma Valley High School that had limited public access was shut down and filled in.</p><p>The only other option for valley residents is the membership-only Sonoma Aquatic Club in Agua Caliente, which is outside Sonoma city limits.</p><p>One idea is to rebuild the pool at Sonoma Valley High or elsewhere on campus.</p><p>The school district has set aside about $1.5 million toward construction costs for a pool, according to Deputy Superintendent Justin Frese.</p><p>That amount is roughly half of the estimated cost to build a new pool, according to a 2008 study prepared for the school district.</p><p>Another study put the price as high as $6 million. Frese called that proposal unreasonable, saying the plan included kids getting robes and shuttling back and forth to the pool in golf carts.</p><p>In addition to construction costs, funding for maintenance, staffing and other needs would have to be identified before building a pool. The 2008 study estimated those costs would be $100,000 annually, excluding staffing.</p><p>“It's going to take the city committing to putting some money on the table,” Frese said.</p><p>Spokesman Sam Coturri said the group is exploring public and private partnerships to underwrite pool costs.</p><p>He's confident the group can come up with a plan by the March deadline imposed by city leaders. Council members also requested that the group host a community meeting to gather feedback.</p><p>“We really feel we are on the cusp of getting this done,” Coturri said.</p><p>Rouse said he supports the city spending money for a community pool, but he expressed doubts about pool advocates being able to come up with answers to questions of location and funding by the March deadline.</p><p>“I don't think we'll have anything resolved in three months,” the councilman said.</p><p>He also has concerns with how much access the public would have to a pool at Sonoma Valley High.</p><p>“There are some on the council who believe that's the only place it will end up. I don't know that I necessarily believe that,” Rouse said. “But they have more tenure and have been down this path before.”</p>