GREAT FALLS — When agreements between Malmstrom Air Force Base and the City of Great Falls were coming together to fund the aquatic center at 900 29th Street South (in Lions Park), Malmstrom assumed that airmen would be able to train at the facility for free. However, those details sank between the cracks.
The Scheels Aim High Big Sky Aquatic Center was funded by a ten-million dollar grant from Department of Defense that was matched by the city.
City Commissioner Joe McKenney said, “We got what we want - an aquatic center for our community. And Malmstrom Air Force Base got what they wanted - a training center for aquatic activities.”
McKenney said that this led to confusion on what fees the military would need to pay in order to train: “Malmstrom was expecting the training for the aquatic center to be free.”
While this should have been discussed prior to opening, other factors were prioritized, and the detail was never ironed out.
McKenney said, “The conversation got off on to more critical issues, and then the secondary issue of payment for fees just got dropped.”
At Tuesday night’s city commission meeting, city manager Greg Doyon suggested that the city not waive fees for training purposes.
Doyon said, “The grant never required us to waive the fees. There was an understanding after it was awarded that we would be able to charge a reduced rate, considering the nature of the operations of the facility.”
He expects waiving the fees to cost an additional four to eight thousand dollars a year from the general fund.
Doyon said, “It's not a lot of money in the scheme of things to waive that amount. It's more of the principal, of the matter in terms of what the grant requirement was.”
There is also a concern that, almost a year after opening, the aquatic center is still running at a monthly deficit, but McKenney is optimistic: “The aquatic center is an asset to our community. We will get the marketing figured out and it won't be in the black for long in my opinion.”
The commission voted three to two to waive training fees, but members of the military will still need to pay for memberships for individual use.
Voting in favor of the resolution were Cory Reeves, Susan Wolff, and McKenney; voting against the resolution were Shannon Wilson and Rick Tryon.
Colonel Dan Voorhies, the commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom, said in a news release: “I am thankful for the community’s support in allowing us to use the world class Scheels Aim High Aquatic Center. This opportunity allows the Airmen of Malmstrom AFB and the 120th Montana Air National Guard the use of the specially designed facility to conduct water survival training; a skillset that would help them survive on the worst day of their lives.”
