JOHN DAY — The pool is back in play.

At a meeting on Thursday, July 28, the John Day/Canyon City Parks and Recreation District board voted to hold a joint meeting with the John Day City Council this month with the aim of putting the pool bond back on the ballot in November.

During the May 17 primary election, the $4 million bond measure failed after ending in a tie. Since then, however, a local political action committee has been pushing to put the initiative back on the ballot after what it calls the inconclusive result in May.

Architects and members of the political action committee known as Yes to JDCC Swim Center made presentations to the board during the July 28 meeting. The architects went over proposed designs for a new pool, and the PAC members outlined why they think the November general election is a good time to put the pool back on the ballot.

“This was actually our second presentation to the JDCC Parks and Rec board of directors,” noted Ashley Armichardy of Yes to JDCC Swim Center. “We’ve been working on this for a month now, and we’re excited to see it moving forward.”

Fellow PAC member Jesse Schaefer said the group is sure the support is there for the measure to pass, which is why the PAC is working to get the bond back on the ballot this November.

“We don’t know what the vote is going to be, but the reason we’re asking Parks to put it on the ballot is that we think there is enough support to pass this time,” she said. “In May it was a literal tie, 802-802. We know of people who thought that the choice was between redoing Gleason Pool or building a new pool, so we think now that it’s clear that the choice is ‘new pool or no pool’ that there will be a majority to pass the bond.”

The 64-year-old Gleason Pool, which had been closed for two years, was demolished in May. The pool site, as well as the neighboring Gleason Park, has been sold to the state for an expansion of the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site.

Armichardy said she thinks the general election in November will result in a higher turnout than in May and that the PAC hopes to see a definitive “yes” or “no” result instead of a tie. Both Armichardy and Schaefer stressed that most bonds fail their first time on the ballot and that voting for a bond measure more than once isn’t abnormal.

Both also said that the opposition’s “redo not brand new” campaign in the previous election was inaccurate and that the phrase cannot be used in November because there is nothing to redo this time around.

JDCC Parks and Recreation District Chair Zach Williams said previous statements that Parks and Rec had no plans to put the pool bond back on the ballot were accurate when they were made in the runup to the primary election, but efforts by the PAC as well as the tie in May forced the board to look at putting the measure up for a vote again.

“None of us envisioned going through the process again,” Williams said. “I don’t think anyone thought about an actual tie in the voting. Another thing we as a board discussed was that many partners had worked very hard on this and we needed to get together with them and look at next steps. The PAC’s persistence was also a part of relooking.”

Williams also expressed the hope that the city would be a better partner to Parks and Rec if the bond makes it onto the ballot again. Both Williams and the board made it clear that while Parks and Rec would potentially put forward the bond measure, the city would also have a stake in the outcome and should provide support for the measure.

The city has received a $2 million state grant to go toward construction of the $6 million aquatic center project, but the grant will expire if the money isn’t spent by a certain date.

Another concern is the potential for competition from a long-rumored law-enforcement bond, although the Grant County Court has not yet discussed putting such a measure on the November ballot. Williams said he isn’t sure a law enforcement bond would negatively affect the pool bond, but he imagines it could play into people’s minds when they vote on Nov. 8.

Parks and Rec is slated to have a joint meeting with John Day City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 9, to discuss putting the bond measure on the ballot for the November election. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the John Day Fire Hall, 316 S. Canyon Blvd.