A Pool for All. Ten years ago, a Swim Center on Lopez was just an idea. Today, with more than 1,300 donors, it’s becoming a reality. Turn down Pool Lane, off Center Road, and soon you’ll find a thoughtfully designed 2.5-acre site featuring two pools at two temperatures: a 25-yard, four-lane lap pool and a 24-by-38-foot warmer-water wellness/teaching pool. We say “pool,” but this Swim Center will be more than just a pool. Way more.

The Swim Center will be a year-round place for the community to come together for fun, fitness, and healing. From community gatherings to outdoor BBQs on the lawn, to sunset parties and meeting for lattes on the patio. From exercise classes to physical therapy, lap swimming to Dive-In Movie nights, the Swim Center will have something to offer everyone.

Operating as a nonprofit organization, the Lopez Swim Center will offer year-round and school-year memberships, as well as drop-in, weekly, and summer passes. Scholarships, sponsorships, and discounted memberships will ensure all who want to swim are able to join in the fun! 

An Eco-Friendlier Pool. For many, a pool is nothing but a big hole in the ground, filled with an endless supply of water and treated with copious amounts of chemicals. A conventional pool, maybe. But ours will be anything but. Time and research have yielded what we believe will be the most responsible and sustainable way of managing a swim center on our rural island, with its limited resources. Because our community wouldn’t have it any other way.

Keeping it energy-wise: Electric heat-pumps will heat the pools and provide space-heating. More efficient than their propane-powered counterparts, they will save $30K to $40K in utility costs every year, and save more than 750 tons of carbon dioxide from being released annually.

Even though FLIP has a abundant well on-site, there’s no reason to waste water. Using modern regenerative media filters, pool water will be recirculated and sanitized, saving about 24,000 gallons of water each month compared to traditional sand filters, and helping conserving our island’s precious resource.

The all-steel Myrtha pools that were selected are long-lived and durable, with less embodied energy and maintenance requirements of a concrete pools. Concrete pools have to be completed drained and refilled every six years, while Myrtha pools never have to be. Advanced filtration and automated UV disinfection systems will continuously provide exceptional water quality; a supplemental sanitation system will provide extra protection against pathogens in addition to the primary disinfection system.

The seasonal use of the Arizon dome will result in less yearly energy used for artificial heating and lighting, and let islanders bask in the summer sun. The dome fabric comes with a 20-year warranty, although users report far longer in practice. We’ve planned conservatively in our capital maintenance reserve fund for a Year 20 replacement.

Read our full report

A Year-Round Pool. As anyone in the PNW knows, when it’s nice outside, it’s really nice. And when it’s not—well, batten down the hatches. Or in the case of the Swim Center, put up the heated Arizon dome.

Open-air in the summer, enclosed in the winter, we’re designed for year-round comfort–and year-round savings. The dome is far less expensive to build, operate, and maintain, and eliminates the need entirely for air-conditioning and dehumidification during the summer. That, and honestly, who wants to swim indoors on one of those perfect PNW summer days?  

Find out more about the energy benefits of Arizon domes

Read more about the Dome Membrane & review the MSDS sheet here

An Everyone in the Pool, Pool. Rest assured, there’s not one good reason to become a member, there are literally dozens and dozens of great reasons to become a member. So that anyone and everyone can join in all that the Swim Center offers, grants, scholarships, sliding-scale membership fees, and sustaining membership to support families in need will be available.

PROPOSED MONTHLY POOL PASS FEES (Based on full-year pool pass)

A Long-Lived Pool. FLIPpers are serious about sustainability, and that’s why so much effort and examination have gone into the operations and business plan. It’s been gone over with a fine-tooth comb, scrutinized by a variety of professionals who have experience with what makes a successful swim center run, for the long run. 

As a nonprofit, the Swim Center won’t rely on property tax monies or levies, nor will it rely on an exclusive, expensive members-only basis for its financial health. A diversified revenue stream—daily passes, tiered and sponsored memberships, fitness class and training fees, special events and youth camp tuition—will help ensure the Center’s financial viability, now and in the future.

FLIP is also committed to ensuring community sustainability—that everyone who wants to swim will have access to the pools, regardless of income. Deeply discounted and sponsored memberships will be offered to those in need.

More than a Pool, Pool. On-site coffee and food trucks? Possible micro-housing opportunities? Space for artist pop-up events? Gleaning from edible landscaping and space for more community garden beds? A solar-electric system to put more clean energy into the grid?

Beyond anything else, islanders are resourceful. Share your ideas on how the Swim Center can build community and be more than just a pool. Email us with questions, concerns, and to share your excitement and vision: info@lopezislandpool.org