How to have nice things
Whidbey Adventure Swim
Earlier this month we held the fifteenth Whidbey Adventure Swim, the season’s first of a number of open water swims around the Puget Sound. This swim is organized by the South Whidbey Parks and Aquatics Foundation in support of programs at our new community pool, the South Whidbey Aquatics and Recreation Center which is now under constructions. I was a support kayak volunteer, as I have been for the last eight races.
The first attempt to build a pool was in 2008 with a bond measure on the November ballot to raise $15 million. Unfortunately, we were in the middle of a recession, and the voters were not inclined to spend the money, so the measure was defeated with a 62% majority against.
The supporters of the pool didn't give up. The adventure swim started a few years later to raise money and awareness for the pool.
In 2018 I volunteered as a support kayaker for the first time, and in 2022 joined the organizing committee, first as kayak volunteer coordinator. As the City of Langley’s mayor, public works, and planning directors are all friends of mine, I also picked up the job of city liaison, and, because I’ve developed a degree of immunity to bureaucracy, of Port of South Whidbey liaison.
In 2023, fifteen years after the first attempt to build a pool, a second bond measure passed with the majority reversed to 62% in favor.
Celebrating the power of community
A $27 million bond measure to build a pool for our community passed in the November 7th election! 62.6% voted in favor, easily passing the 60% threshold. The turnout was an amazing 62%, an astounding high number for an odd year election with only district issues and candidates on the ballot.
Last summer the Parks and Recreation District broke ground on the pool.
Groundbreaking news!
Last Friday, our community broke ground on a new pool. Over one hundred community members turned out (we beat the pickleball court groundbreaking!) to watch South Whidbey Parks and Rec Commissioners and Parks and Aquatics Foundation board members shovel ceremonial dirt and eat celebratory cake!
While the 2023 bond measure will fund basic construction of the pool, some finishing touches and operations need an increase in the property tax levy. As Washington State lacks an income tax, most local programs must be funded through property taxes, meaning they are already high, and any proposed increase is assured of some opposition, this one no exception. Nevertheless, the voters once more came through in November 2025, approving, with a 62.9% majority, a 4-year replacement levy to complete the construction of the Aquatic & Recreation Center and support the new Aquatics operations.
It’s always a little nerve-wracking, putting on a race for 125 swimmers, worrying about all the things that could go wrong, as you can tell perhaps from my face in the picture below, but it’s our long-suffering race director who takes most of the strain.
In the end, it was our largest and best race yet. As you can read below, our swimmers agree!
Swimmer comments
“Thanks also for putting on the best swim! The Whidbey Island Adventure Swim weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Y’all just create such a wonderful, welcoming, and fun vibe— it’s no wonder such a large Alki Beach contingency makes a whole weekend of it. Thanks for the wild amount of work that must go into making the event a success every year.”
“thank you and your team of volunteers for such a fun event! It is the season opener and always fun to see people and have such a lovely, supportive swim.”
“Thanks for putting on a great event. I didn’t stick around for the awards yesterday as we had to get back to BI. Everything I did experience was awesome. I haven’t raced since 2019, and your swim was a great way to start getting back into it. I’m looking forward to being back next year.”
“Another absolutely amazing event! You guys do the best job ever. Penny gave it the Paw of approval.”
“Thank you for all the work you and your organization put into the WI Swim. As a participant it was a terrific event. Perfect conditions, good vibes, great people and excellent snacks!”
Meanwhile, construction on the pool is proceeding rapidly with an opening planned for later this summer.
Also proceeding is funding, through the adventure swim and other sources, for Every Third Grader Swims, a program to ensure that every third grader receives a series of free learn to swim lessons, either through the school for those in public education, or through vouchers for those who are home schooled or in private schools.
Are there success stories in your community? Please share them in the comments!
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I commend you for taking an active part in this effort, John, and feel the collective, community joy coming through in your words. The closest I've been to that kind of organizing is my years of work with the farmers market and, a bit later, the community garden.
We live in a relatively small town that attracts retirees from DC, Philly, and NYC--folks with big bank accounts and egos. That has proved advantageous for the funding of many community amenities. We have "our own" YMCA (with a pool), library, community pool, community center, and obviously, community garden and farmers market. All this in a town (incorporated and beyond) of under 4K people, and replicated eight miles away in the next town over. These people don't want to have to drive "that far!"
That is so cool, John. Impressive community work, and I especially love the detail about kiddos all learning to swim!