The Recreation District Community Pool Project is still treading water

 

A swimming pool is still a possibility for the Cañon City Community. To say a lot has happened since June 1st would be an understatement. At first the pool project looked like it was going back to the planning stages, but a group of citizens had other ideas. The plan now is to construct and operate a seasonal pool at the current Icabone Swimming Pool site using the existing .3% sales tax.  A ballot measure would still be required to use the tax for both construction and pool operational subsidy.  

Below is a timeline outlining events starting with the closure of the pool in 2023.

Community Pool Timeline

• May 2023: R.C. Icabone Pool closes after 56 years
• 2024: Feasibility Study Completed by OLC Architects for a replacement pool
• 2024: Public input & stakeholders develop new, preliminary pool program
• November 2024: 2A & 6B for Capital Construction Pass, 6A for Operations Failed
• February - October 2025: Consultants were selected to work on a preliminary pool design. It included Wember as the Owner's Representative, Barker Rinker Seacat as the architect, and GH Phipps as the Construction Manager at Risk. In an agreement between the Recreation District and City of Cañon City, no more than $750,000 of collected tax revenue could be spent on pool planning and design. This process included public engagement to finalize the pool program.
• July 2025: An idea was presented to pay for the pool operations subsidy through an Excise Tax.
• August 2025: The Excise Tax was placed on the November ballot.
• November 4, 2025: Excise Tax for pool operations failed 
• February 2026: City of Cañon City forms a Pool Committee to explore pool operational funding
• June 1, 2026: Unable to identify any operational funding, City Council decided the City of Cañon City will no longer participate in the planning, financing, development, construction, operation, or maintenance of the proposed Recreation District Pool Project.
• June 9, 2026: Recreation District Board of Directors voted 3-2 to go back to the drawing board to replace the closed Icabone Swimming Pool.  The Board said they will look at options down the road to address the swimming pool.  The Cañon City Council will determine what happens with the .3% sales tax for pool construction.
• June 15, 2026: City Council asked to hear ideas from the community about what to do with the projected $2.2 - $2.4 million in collected pool sales tax revenue and the future of the tax. They established a committee to review this topic and make a recommendation to City Council by July 6th. Numerous meetings were held to get input.
• July 6, 2026: City Council heard from the citizens committee, and the following options were recommended: Put the funds towards Western Gateway Park, Refund the money to the taxpayers, or Explore a scaled-back pool project. A special meeting was called for July 21st to listen to proposals.
• July 14, 2026: Recreation District Board of Directors, after hearing citizen proposals on pool options, agreed to sit down with Cañon City Council if they would like to consider a scaled-back pool.
• July 21, 2026: City Council listened to six presentations about what to do with the collected pool funds. They decided to move forward with the following proposals: a scaled-back version of the pool project, an incline on Skyline Drive, and funding for Western Gateway Park. A final decision would be made at the August 3rd City Council meeting.
• July 28, 2026: The Recreation District Board of Directors held a special meeting to make a recommendation on a pool proposal to City Council. The Board unanimously approved the proposal of Heather Darrow to build a seasonal pool, similar to Option 2 in the 2024 Feasibility Study (see image below). Both capital construction and operational subsidy would be addressed in the existing .3% sales tax currently being collected by the City of Cañon City.  
• August 3, 2026: The Cañon City Council unanimously approved moving forward with Heather Darrow's plan to address capital construction and operational subsidy in the existing sales tax. It would require going back to the voters in November of 2026 for approval. The City also agreed to meet with the Recreation District in a special combined meeting on August 5th in council chambers.
• August 5, 2026: The Recreation District Board of Directors and Cañon City Council held a combined special meeting to discuss the pool project and how to move forward with the proposed seasonal plan. Both entities agreed to work together to formulate ballot language in time for the August 17th meeting, set up a committee for a new Intergovernmental Agreement between the Recreation District and City on the pool tax, and work collaboratively to bring a seasonal pool to our community.  

We will continue to update this website as information becomes available on this project.

Below is the image of Option 2 from the 2024 Feasibility Study.