After a decade of planning, Old Swim Hole rebuild depends on what comes next

MANSON — For years, longtime Manson residents have pointed across the bay and described a small strip of shoreline beside Manson Bay Park as the “Old Swim Hole,” a place where kids once learned to swim, docks ringed the water, and summer afternoons had a home base.

Now, after a decade of design work and permitting, the Manson Park and Recreation District is closer than ever to rebuilding that public swim access and facing an unexpected financial cliff.

Director Robin Pittman said the district opened construction bids on Dec. 8 and learned the project is approximately $754,000 short of the lowest bid, despite having secured the funding amount that matched the engineer’s estimate.

“We were so excited. We were about ready to break ground, basically. I could taste it,” Pittman said, describing the moment the bids were read.

The project area sits adjacent to Manson Bay Park, near a short stretch of green and an aging seawall. Pittman said the shoreline once hosted diving boards, a large dock and a defined swim area, but the infrastructure was removed decades ago after a tragic incident and the site gradually became what she described as a dilapidated seawall.

Pittman framed the current effort as a “revitalization,” a modern, safer version of what the Old Swim Hole once was. She said the district has spent years working through design, engineering, geotechnical review and other requirements to become shovel-ready.

The sticker shock, she said, was not a case of relying on decade-old numbers. The district and its partners revisited estimates multiple times, including immediately before the bid opening.

“This is an oddball project,” she said. “The engineer’s estimate was wrong.”

A small district with a big project

Pittman said Manson Park and Recreation is a special purpose district under Chelan County and one of only a few local governmental agencies based in Manson.

The project also involves a small piece of land owned by Chelan County PUD, which is contributing $500,000 in public power benefit funding to help connect improvements between the district’s parkland and the Old Swim Hole area. Pittman described the PUD as a strong partner and said its contribution remains available.

The shortfall, she said, is on the district’s side of the ledger.

Timeline pressure and grant uncertainty

Pittman said part of the district’s funding package includes a grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO). Of that grant, she said the district has already spent $121,000 on planning, design and permitting work, with about $379,000 remaining.

But that remaining balance may be at risk if the district cannot get under contract and moving on construction within the required window. Pittman said the district has already used extensions and has been told it may not be able to extend again.

As of now, she said, the project will not start this spring as previously hoped. Instead, the district is shifting to a new phase: Making the funding gap widely known, pursuing additional money and keeping community momentum alive.

“This does not mean the project’s done,” Pittman said. “This is a delay. We are still moving forward.”

Searching for the missing dollars

Pittman said the district is pursuing two main paths. There is a request for state appropriation funding, and there are other grant options that could keep the project alive if the appropriation request falls through.

She said she has worked with state Rep. Mike Steele on an appropriation request for the full shortfall. She also noted the challenge of seeking a large appropriation in a supplemental budget year, at a time when recent storms and flooding have created urgent demands statewide that can absorb available resources quickly.

If the appropriation route fails and grant timing forces the district to withdraw from its current RCO grant, Pittman said the district may pivot to a separate RCO program that becomes available in March, a waterfront access grant, that could fund the work on a longer timeline. Under that scenario, she said construction could move into a 2027–2028 window.

In the near term, Pittman said the district’s priority is awareness and community support, with the understanding that a project of this scale won’t be solved by small local fundraising alone. Still, she said donations and outside philanthropic help could change the picture quickly.

“Stay behind this project,” she said. “We’re staying positive about it. We just need continued positivity, if nothing else.”

What’s next

Pittman said the district’s immediate goal is to make sure the community understands the Old Swim Hole project is delayed, not canceled, and that the district is continuing to pursue funding.

Over the next several months, she said the district will await the outcome of its state appropriation request while continuing to explore other options. If state funding does not materialize in time and the district must withdraw from its current Recreation and Conservation Office grant, Pittman said the district will prepare to compete for the waterfront access grant cycle opening this spring, a route that could keep the project alive but would likely push construction into a later window.

In the meantime, Pittman said she hopes residents and supporters will continue to back the project and help keep momentum strong as the district works to close the gap.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media