Ever since King County announced it was no longer going to fund Mt. Rainier Pool in 2003, the pool has faced an uncertain future.

Des Moines, Normandy Park SeaTac and the Highline School District came together then, forming the Mt. Rainier Pool Coalition as a temporary solution to keep it open.

The cities' contracts to continue funding the pool end in 2009. Ownership of the pool will be turned over from Des Moines and Normandy Park to the Highline School District in the spring of 2009.

Highline spokeswoman Catherine Carbone Rogers said the district is looking for outside funding to keep it open. She said the district would not be able to support the Mt. Rainier Pool by itself.

Highline superintendent John Welch told audience members at the Nov. 5 school board meeting that the district, Des Moines, Normandy Park and SeaTac commissioned a cost study that will be finished this month.

"We are in dialog about this issue," Welch said. "It will probably take a continued partnership but the conversation is well underway."

Officials from all three cities have said that without additional revenues they won't be able to support the pool past 2009.

SeaTac will stop funding Mt. Rainier Pool as soon as the new Highline YMCA pool opens, which is expected in Sept. 2009

Craig Ward, SeaTac city manager, said the SeaTac has put a lot of money into the YMCA pool and that is the pool they plan to support.

Des Moines City Councilman Dave Kaplan said Des Moines should never have had to take on responsibility for the pool to begin with.

"[King County has] been dumping more and more services on local government and expecting us to pick up the tab for it," Kaplan said. "The city wound up taking it on and made it clear to the public that it would be for a limited time."

Des Moines has committed to funding the pool through part of 2009.

Lori Ericksen, Des Moines assistant city manager, said there were three possible dates the city could stop their funding: March, when pool ownership reverts to the school district; September when the YMCA pool opens, or through the end of 2009 if a levy to fund the pool is passed.

The Mt. Rainier Pool and Evergreen Pool are the only two district pools used for competition.

SeaTac Parks and Recreation Director Kit Ledbetter said the district had an opportunity to help fund the new YMCA pool to make it a competition-sized pool but declined.

Kaplan said that the general public will be able to use the YMCA pool in September and the real issue comes down to having a competition-sized pool for the high schools.

"Honestly, I don't think the city can afford to maintain the pool at a $125,000 a year just so the district can have a competition-sized pool," Kaplan said.

Mt. Rainier Pool manager Ken Spenser said Mt. Rainier Pool is more than just a pool for the people who use it.

"It's not a swimming pool, it is a community center. It just happens to be full of water," Spenser said.

Spencer is also the manager for Kent Meridian Pool and he said the vibes at that pool are completely different.

"The environment that we create is very hard to duplicate," Spenser said.

The Mt. Rainier Pool has between 1,500 and 2,000 visitors a week. Spenser said that every demographic imaginable uses the pool on a regular basis, from kids getting swim lessons, high school swim teams, Olympian swimmers and many older residents from nearby retirement communities.

Faith Callahan, who is 104 years old, said at the district's Nov. 5 meeting that she credits her three times-a-week water aerobics classes for keeping her alive.

She said she has been participating in classes at the pool since 1970.

"Think of the younger people and do what you can to keep the pool open," Callahan declared.

Kaplan said he would love to fund the pool, along with a lot of other programs but that the money simply isn't there.

He embraces the idea of putting a parks and recreation levy on the ballot to fund the pool.

If voters do not approve extra resources, Kaplan said he does not see how the pool could stay open.

(Eric Mathison contributed to this article.)