The Vashon Pool had a strong season with several successes this summer but went over budget, according to Vashon Park District Executive Director Elaine Ott.

The park district had allocated $46,500 for the pool this summer and expected to lengthen the season to the end of September. Because of an inability to find September staff, however, the district closed the pool  on Labor Day as usual, three weeks earlier than projected, with a total of $43,000 needed from the district.

“We underestimated our labor costs,” Ott said. “We did not forecast it correctly.”

The staffing expense and the cost of an electrical repair combined to make the pool exceed its budget by $3,700 dollars, according to Ott.

Scott Bonney, the pool manager, had been optimistic in his labor cost projections, Ott said, noting that Bonney tried to use staff as efficiently as possible, but he could not always do so. The last weeks of the season, when rain returned to the region and attendance plummeted, were particularly challenging in that regard, she said.

Despite the overage in staff costs, the season was a success overall, Ott said, noting that during the many weeks of hot weather, the pool was packed.

Bonney said highlights of the summer included an increase in kids participating in the water polo program; the Vashon Community Care weekly program, which brought many seniors to the pool, and swimming lessons, which had record participation and brought in about a quarter of the pool’s revenue.

“I am particularly pleased about the lessons because it is one of my goals to have everybody on Vashon learn to swim,” Bonney added.

Next summer, he said, the pool will allocate more resources to lessons and expand the hours they are offered, with the intent of drawing in people who might not otherwise take them.

“We are going to make a concerted effort to reach out to those kids and find an affordable way for them to learn to swim,” he said.

In this off-season, Bonney said he is going to step up his efforts at increasing the pool’s staff, as finding enough people to work there has been an ongoing challenge.

“We need to put more resources into finding people and increasing our bench strength,” he said.