Union Gap will hear pitch on aquatic center vote

Will Union Gap and Selah join forces with Yakima to pay for a regional aquatic center? It's not an academic question.

On Monday, Yakima Mayor Dave Edler and Councilwoman Kathy Coffey are scheduled to appear before the Union Gap City Council for the purpose of getting their counterparts on the city's southern border to approve a special election.

"They're not being asked, Do you agree with this?" says Coffey. "The question is, Do you feel that your community should be able to vote on this?"

At issue is how to pay for the center, which city officials in Yakima have been studying for more than a year.

Last month the Yakima City Council agreed that the best way to build and operate the proposed $34 million center is to raise the sales tax one-tenth of a percent -- from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent.

But only voters can do that, and not just voters in Yakima. Voters in Union Gap and Selah would also have to say yes.

That's because the aquatic center would be funded through a special taxing district formed by all three cities that helps pay for the Yakima Convention Center.

Before that can happen, however, all three city councils have to agree to put something on the ballot.

If any one of the cities says no, the plan is DOA. The Yakima City Council has already said yes. That leaves Union Gap and Selah still out there.

Coffey says she hopes she and Edler can persuade the Union Gap council that there's no harm in letting voters have their say.

The fact that some key details have yet to be worked out -- particularly location -- should not be a deterrent, she says. That's because there's no need to study the two recommended sites at the old Boise Cascade mill and State Fair Park if the proposal isn't going to a vote.

"Frankly, I don't know which way they're going to go," Coffey says of the Union Gap council. "Half the time I don't know where my council is going."

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.