MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — After more than five years of construction, Mountain Home's future aquatic center still has a way to go before completion. Idaho News 6 visited the site after hearing from frustrated neighbors wondering when the project would finally be finished.
"It was a dream of the community for a long time to have an indoor aquatic facility," Betty Ashcraft, president of the Recreation Foundation of Elmore County, said.
That community dream remains just that, a dream. Voters approved the Western Elmore County Recreation District more than two decades ago, primarily funded by local tax dollars.
"A recreation district board cannot borrow money," Ashcraft said. "So all of the money coming from the taxes has to be saved and saved and saved."
Watch to see what the center looks like now, and why it's taken so long to get here:
Construction officially broke ground near the high school about six years ago. The project is now in its sixth phase, and while crews have made progress, there's still significant work remaining.
The district hopes people from surrounding communities, from Grandview to Fairfield, will visit the finished facility. But many Mountain Home residents are growing impatient with the timeline.
When asked what the district would say to neighbors who feel the project is taking too long, Dan Gillies, president of Western Elmore County Recreation District, responded: "It is taking a long time because we are trying to get the most that we can for the dollars that we have."
The district told me rising costs after 2020 made budgeting unpredictable.
"Things change in price. We saved probably $400,000 on the building by buying the structure and storing it for a year before the prices went up," Gillies said.
The project is currently estimated at around $5.5 million, with about $2 million more needed for completion. Property taxes will then go toward maintaining the aquatic center once complete.
"And we hope to have it finished within a year or two," Gillies said.
The community is invited to attend the district's next board meeting on Aug. 27, and anyone can request a tour of the facility.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
