The City of Driggs and Teton Valley Aquatics are working in partnership with a common goal which is to provide a year-round aquatic center for the Teton Valley. Teton Valley Aquatics (TVA) is responsible for fundraising for construction and operations of the facility and the City of Driggs (CoD) is responsible for the construction and operations of the future facility.

Driggs is the Teton County seat and is a central location in the valley. Driggs is close to Teton School District #401 elementary schools, the middle school and high school; key users of the facility.

Proposed sites were evaluated by a City of Driggs and TVA project team. The selected site, just north of the 5th street skate park, ranked highest against our criteria. Site attributes include:

1. Adequate land for this facility

2. Good access for the community to use the network of trails and public transit

3. Walking distance from schools and centrally located for community

4. Great visibility for visitors to help increase facility revenue

5. Offers compliant options for discharge of water to the landscape or into a network of ditches

6. Cost effective option as the land will be donated to the City by the current land owner (developer)

7. Great opportunity to partner with other nonprofit organizations who have a common goal of protecting the Teton Creek habitat

8. Access from arterial and collector roads, with minimum traffic impact on neighborhoods

We are eager to learn lessons from other facilities. Based on a conversation in January 2020, with Blackfoot Mayor Carroll, TVA learned that the primary reason for closure of the Blackfoot pool was cost (no surprise). The high investment required to keep the facility open was caused by many years of operating without a funded maintenance program and poor initial facility design choices. Specific items learned from the discussion with the Blackfoot Mayor regarding the nearly 50 year-old pool include:

-25yd X 40yd lap pool generally 5+ft deep with a diving area and 3m & 10m diving boards. Depths below each board did not meet current requirements.

-This pool has an aluminum liner which was the subject of much weld repair due to corrosion. They eventually began installing membrane liners.

-Kiddy pool was considered to be too deep for kids two years and under; not a splash pool.

-Blackfoot never had a maintenance budget for the facility and things were fixed as they broke.

-In order to continue to operate the pool, it became critical to fix failed systems. Bond requests and an attempt at a recreation district failed.

The Teton Valley facility concepts differ from the Blackfoot pool in efficiency in systems and buildings, technology advances and differences in serviceable market, including higher income and a more active population. We have carefully reviewed lessons learned from facilities in comparable communities that have either failed or been successful. Mission Valley, Montana and Mountain Home, Idaho are two similar communities with successful facilities or pathways to a successful facility. Planning for an adequate operating budget over the long term is critical to the success of this facility.

Identifying an achievable funding matrix is a key component of the business plan. What we expect to see out of the business plan, which will be completed after conceptual design, is a diverse funding stream for resiliency of the financial model for both construction and operations of the facility. Funding can include local, state and federal funding, a robust capital campaign supported by individuals, businesses and foundations and creation of an endowment to support facility operations.

Opportunities for improving funding of recreation amenities in Teton Valley are being looked at by the Teton Valley Sports & Wellness nonprofit organization, one of the options being looked into is a Recreation District. Funding provided by this form of tax would go to support recreation within Teton Valley which could, or could not, include operation of the future aquatics and recreation facility. As this separate group works towards better funding of recreation amenities in Teton Valley, TVA and the City of Driggs are continuing to look for diverse funding methods for resiliency of the financial model for both construction and operations of the facility which include public, private, and non-profit sources.

The City of Driggs and TVA have worked with Friends of the Teton River, Teton Regional Land Trust, other members of the Teton Creek Corridor Project and Idaho National Laboratory staff in locating the facility and assessing the pros and cons of a geothermal well. Such a well, drilled to much deeper than current culinary and irrigation wells, will deliver a sustainable pressurized hot water source capable of generating electricity, heating a recreation facility and other uses like greenhouses. This well will ultimately recharge the aquifer and increase water availability in the valley. The only expected consumption of this water is via evaporation prior to recharge/disposal. A full analysis will be required by Idaho Department of Water Resources as part of the well and water right permit application submitted by Teton Geothermal, LLC.

$15,000 in sales & lodging tax were spent by the City of Driggs in 2018 on the feasibility study. Aside from costs to record the land donation (paid from impact fees), there have been no expenses since 2018.

The geothermal well will be drilled and paid for by Teton Geothermal, LLC and, upon completion, will be donated to the City of Driggs.

The conceptual design phase is estimated to cost $105,000, which would be split 71/29 between City (sales/lodging tax) and Teton Valley Aquatics (donations/grants).

The City of Driggs and Teton Valley Aquatics agree that affordability is a key consideration in all significant policies and actions. Going forward, each step in the process will be a point to consider options to maintain affordability - for the facility and the community.