Yakima Council Approves Downtown Parking Plan And New Pool

The Yakima City Council approved new parking plan for downtown Yakima on Tuesday and also approved a $9.8 million contract for the proposed aquatic center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

MORE MONEY IS NEEDED BEFORE THE POOL BECOMES A REALITY

While the council approved a multi-million dollar construction contract the city still needs to raise another $600,000 to complete the project. The funding collected so far comes from the city, county, private donations and the American Rescue Plan Act.

IT'S GOING TO COST A LOT OF MONEY TO MAINTAIN THE POOL

The Yakima Parks and Recreation Manager Ken Wilkenson told council members the pool is expected to raise $80,000 in annual revenue and cost upwards of $250,000 a year to maintain. The city dedicated more than $700,000 in ARPA money to cover the new pool maintenance for up to two years. After that it will be up to the city to come up with maintenance funding for the future.

YAKIMA HAS A PARKING PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN YAKIMA

The council also approved a new parking plan for downtown Yakima on Tuesday. The plan allows two-hour free parking on the street and three-hours free in the city owned parking lots. Council members reduced permit parking in the lots from 60% to 40% at a lowered cost of $20 a month and parking fines are now $20 under the new plan.

NO PARKING ENFORCEMENT UNTIL JUNE 1

The council is extended the parking enforcement moratorium until May 31. City officials say extending the time allows "a good start date for purchasing parking permits for city-owned parking lots, as well as messaging to the public that the parking rules will be enforced starting June 1st."