Mission Statement

The mission of the East Fork Swimming Pool District is to provide a comprehensive aquatics program of the highest quality to the residents and visitors of the Carson Valley.

To achieve this mission statement the Carson Valley Swim Center is managed and operated by three principles:

1. Excellent maintenance and operating practices are to be utilized that include: maintaining a clean facility at all times; maintaining equipment and machinery in like - new condition; hiring and training a courteous and conscientious staff eager to serve the community; and emphasizing safety through staff training and facility improvements.

2. The facilities and programs shall be accessible for the entire community through: offering swimming programs designed for all individuals - including those with disabilities; and scheduling the pool open daily except for December 25th.

3. The East Fork Swimming Pool District will plan for future growth of the community by: budgeting for future operating and maintenance of the present swimming center.

History Highlights

November 1958: The East Fork Swimming Pool District was created by a majority vote of the electors of the East Fork Township at a general election on November 4, 1958, and declared organized by District Judge R. Hanna on November 22, 1958.

September 17, 1977: The Douglas County Board of Commissioners, by Resolution No. 77-41, placed the District in an inactive status and transferred its operation to Douglas County Parks and Recreation.

April 3, 1986: The Douglas County Board of Commissioners, by Resolution No. 86-16, reactivated the East Fork Swimming Pool District. Upon reactivation, the EFSPD had the power to construct, maintain, and operate swimming pools and other equipment pertaining thereto in the service area of the EFSPD. The service area of the EFSPD (approximately 624 square miles) is that portion of Douglas County known as the East Fork Township of Douglas County. At the time the EFSPD was reactivated, the old Gardnerville pool was not meeting the needs of the community.

September 12, 1986: A special East Fork Township election was held, concurrent with the State Primary Election, in which a question was asked if the EFSPD should incur an indebtedness of a principal amount not to exceed $2,500,000 for the purpose of constructing and equipping a swim center. This question was approved by the voters with 2,666 voters voting yes (57%) and 1,955 voting no.

February 23, 1987: The EFSPD requested and was granted Ad Valorem Tax authority to supplement its user fees by the State of Nevada Department of Taxation. Effective fiscal year 1987 - 88, the maximum allowed operating rate was .1077 per $100 in assessed value.

May 1, 1989: The Carson Valley Swim Center opened and since then it has enjoyed a steady growth in attendance, revenue, hours of service, and program diversity.

1991: The Carson Valley Swim Center won the Nevada Recreation and Parks Association's Elmer H. Anderson Parks Excellence Award, the highest award given by that society. The award is based on facility design, programming, community use, and long-range planning.

1993: The Carson Valley Swim Center won the National Recreation and parks Association's Excellence in Aquatics award, which is the highest commendation awarded at the national level. This competitive award is based on facility design, programming, community use, and long range planning.

2000: An addition to the Carson Valley Swim Center is completed that includes a second disabled changing room, water features in a remodeled activity pool and two fully enclosed water slides that land in a new pool designed to serve both as a slide landing pool and indoor lesson pool.

2005: Air handling system was modified so it exhausted warm air heats the dry outside air at a rate of up to 20,000 cubic feet of air a minute.  This provides an environment with warm dry fresh air year around.

2005-2007: An energy saving project lead to over $12,000 in rebates from Sierra Pacific Power Co.  Projects included: 1. Replacing 24 - 1000 watt indirect overhead lights with 250 watt 'T5' florescent lamps with no loss in lighting.  2. Replacing 500 watt underwater lights with 175 watt lights that give a brighter 'cleaner' look to the water. 3. Variable frequency drives (VFD's) on all appropriate electric motors. UFD's reduce motor wear while greatly reducing energy use. 4. Adding (in the Fall of 2007) 54 more 4' X 10' solar collectors on the roof.  These collectors should be able to heat the main indoor pool all year.

The Bond History

The Carson Valley Swim Center was built with a 20 year $2.5 million bond. The bonds were sold in November 1986 and were paid off in November 2006. The original bonds had an average coupon rate of 6.361%. In January 1994 the District refunded the bonds to take advantage of the low interest rates available at that time. The refunded bonds have an average coupon rate of 4.266%. This will result in a savings to the District taxpayers of $142,676 compared to the repayment cost of the original bonds. The current bonds are callable November 2003. The figure below shows the principal balance of the bonds from November 1, 1996 to November 1, 2006.