Foundation offers free admission, lifeguard training if bond issue passes

McCOOK, Neb. — If the McCook sales tax for the recreational bond issue passes Nov. 8, the McCook Community Foundation Fund has pledged to remove several financial barriers related to the new city swimming pool.

The fund’s advisory committee has agreed to grant funds to the city which will cover the admittance fee for all users of McCook’s aquatic center when it opens, most likely in the spring/summer of 2024. MCFF will be covering the entry fee the first summer. This will apply to anyone using the pool, residents and non-residents alike since everyone will be paying the 1/2 cent sales tax while in McCook, MCFF chairperson Cindy Huff said.

Additionally, MCFF has agreed to provide a grant to cover the cost of lifeguard certification done through the McCook YMCA for those who agree to work at the YMCA or McCook City Pool. This grant will go into effect immediately with the upcoming December certification session at the YMCA.

Lifeguard registration will continue to be done through the YMCA, free for anyone who will be working as a lifeguard at either the YMCA pool or McCook’s new city swimming pool or both.

This past summer, the McCook City Council approved a ballot measure proposing the construction or renovation of a new ballpark facility and swimming pool that would be funded by an increase of a one-half of one percent local sales tax. The costs associated with the project are temporary and will be shared by private donors, tourists and visitors. As soon as the bond is paid off, the sales tax ends.

If the bond issue passes at the upcoming election, construction on a new pool will hopefully take place in 2023, opening in 2024. The new aquatic center would be built where the current city pool is located. McCook’s current outdoor city pool was built in 1937 as part of a WPA project. It did not open in 2022 due to several safety issues both in the filtration system and around the facility.

Funds for the ballpark facility from the bond issue will either be put toward the construction of a new complex northwest of McCook or used to improve the current Jaycee Complex, which was built in 1974.

MCFF chose to provide these grants as a way to encourage patrons of all income levels to visit the pool as well as address staffing issues in the community.

“If this bond issue passes, we have a great opportunity to celebrate our community's forward-thinking,” Huff said. “In part, the McCook Community Foundation Fund's mission is to help remove barriers in making our community inclusive and welcoming for all of southwest Nebraska.”

She added, “We hope these grants help ease the burden to either use the facility or to become a lifeguard.”

For more information about the MCFF grants, send an email to mcffund@gmail.com. Registration for lifeguarding is available at mccookymca.org. And additional information about McCook’s recreational bond can be found at mccookonthemove.org.