The City of Washington has updated its agreement with the YMCA of Washington on the management and staffing of the Steele Family Aquatic Center. The center is the city-owned outdoor pool. . 

Washington Y CEO Amy Schulte shared there was a decrease in overall season attendance from 14,551 attending in 2024 to 12,809 in 2025. Schulte cited weather as a main cause for the lower attendance. They were short 10 lifeguards this past season and the aquatics director only spent about 10% of her time working at the outdoor pool. This allowed them to save on wages to help offset the significantly lower revenue. 

The management agreement for the facility was due for review. The council voted to approve an amended agreement for the next three years with two updates. The first change relates to early closure or late opening guidelines. Provisions have been added to close portions of the pool when there is low attendance, as well as early closures for low attendance at the end of the day.

The second change is in the management fee. The current contract has increased by $2,500 a year with the final year being at $15,000. For the next three-year agreement, the fee would begin at $16,500 and increase by $1,500 a year. 

The council voted to approve the changes to the agreement, it was approved on a three to one vote with councilmember Fran Stigers voting no, and councilmember Ivan Rangel absent.