Kenmore City Council voted unanimously April 19 to pursue an engineering study of the closed Carole Ann Wald Pool in St. Edward State Park.

Councilwoman Laurie Sperry said the vote authorized Kenmore’s city manager to begin looking for someone to complete an assessment of the pool facility.

Sperry emphasized the vote did not authorize any study or any expenditure of city funds. She added that if the study happens, the city would use $25,000 budgeted to be donated to the pool before the facility was shut down.

For the second time in less than a year, the doors to the pool were closed Dec. 31 when the second operator in less than a year pulled out of its contract to run the facility because of financial concerns. Despite any financial problems, the pool has some ardent public backers, including the members of the Friends of St. Edward Park.

In March, during a public meeting on the pool called by Kenmore officials, state recreation leaders suggested they needed a physical assessment of the pool building before trying to find a new operator. Representing the state parks and recreation commission, Tom Oliva said officials want a better understanding of the pool’s condition.

Oliva said the pool’s most recent operator, Mill Creek’s West Coast Aquatics, reported financial losses of $90,000 over the eight months the group was involved with the pool.

In 2009, previous operator Northwest Centers of Seattle reported losses of $50,000 a year.

“We need to have a facility assessment,” Oliva said. “Let’s find out what’s going on here.”

According to Sperry and others, one big problem became the state proved unwilling to pay for any study. Oliva said the parks commission could not afford the study itself.

State Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Shoreline, unsuccessfully asked the rest of the state legislature to help with the cost of the study.

“That money just did not come through,” Sperry said.

So when might a city study get under way? Sperry indicated it’s tough to know at this point. She said it may take some time to locate an engineer willing to take on the project, given that the work is somewhat specialized. Further, before Kenmore spends money on the pool, Sperry for one wants to know how much the state is willing to put into pool repairs should they prove needed.

“It’s a state pool, not a Kenmore pool,” Sperry said.

As future of the pool continues to be debated, St. Edward Park Ranger Mohammad Mostafavinassab has said the pool is being minimally maintained to avoid problems with stagnant water and to cut any start-up costs that might be incurred by a new operator.