A busted boiler brought a premature closure to Bothell’s Ruiz-Costie/Northshore Pool on Aug. 22.

Chris Sumi is director of community pools for Northshore pool operator Northwest Centers. He said the boiler quit working Aug. 18. Northwest kept the pool open through Aug. 21, Sumi added, but then the water temperature began to drop below 80 degrees.

Sumi said Aug. 24 it is unclear when or if Northwest will repair the pool’s boiler.

A Seattle based non-profit serving physically challenged clients, Northwest previously had announced it was giving up its operation of the Northshore pool as of Aug. 31. The reason is financial. Northwest officials said they are losing $50,000 annually on the Bothell operation. With all that in mind, Sumi said it may or may not make sense for Northwest to repair the boiler.

“There are a bunch of pro’s and con’s and we are weighing them all,” he said.

Sumi couldn’t say when exactly Northwest officials might make up their minds.

No matter what Northwest decides, Sumi noted a pool boiler is not an “off-the-shelf item.” He said any repair or replacement of the boiler would take at least four weeks. Sumi lamented the fact the pool had to close, saying Northwest wanted to remain in Bothell until Aug. 31.

Northwest initially made the announcement they were leaving Bothell via a letter sent to the Northshore School District on June 24. The Northshore pool is jointly owned by the schools and the cities of Bothell and Woodinville. Bothell Public Information Officer Joyce Goedeke said that after Northwest made their announcement, the city of Bothell took the lead in trying to find a new operator for the pool.

Goedeke said that as of last week, a few parties had expressed at least tentative interest, but no one had signed on the bottom line even prior to the loss of the pool’s boiler.

Before the sudden weekend closure, it was unclear whether or not the pool would remain open after Northwest walked away Aug. 31. Goedeke referred questions about the potential Aug. 31 closure to the school district.

Again prior to the loss of the boiler, district Director of Communications Leanna Albrecht could not say whether or not the pool would be shutting its doors.

Albrecht did state the district had found alternative spots to accommodate the various school swim teams scheduled to use the Northshore facility once school gets underway Sept. 2.

Goedeke initially confirmed three entities at least were researching the possibility of taking over the facility. At least one of those organizations has dropped its interest in the pool.

Based in Mill Creek, West Coast Aquatics only recently came to the rescue of the Carole Ann Wald Pool in Kenmore’s St. Edward State Park. The organization had scheduled a tour of the Northshore facility in June, then cancelled and never rescheduled, Goedeke said.

Last week, West Coast Program Manager Katherine Gundlach told the Reporter her organization is not in a position to take on Northshore operations at this time. Gundlach said between running the non-profit’s original Mill Creek pool and having taken on the Wald facility, the group just does not have the finances to tackle the Northshore Pool.

According to Goedeke, the Northshore YMCA and Kirkland-based WAVE Aquatics both sent officials to tour the Bothell pool. WAVE leaders did not return a phone call for this story.

At the Northshore YMCA, prior to the loss of the boiler, Executive Director Luann Jackman said officials were “just wrapping up their due diligence.”

“I’m hoping we can get a response back to the city before the end of the month,” she added.