PENDLETON — In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the city announced that it was closing the Pendleton Aquatic Center for the season.

According to a June 6 press release, city officials decided to make the call because of uncertainty in the upcoming 2020-21 budget.

Earlier Friday, Gov. Kate Brown allowed Umatilla County to enter into the next phase of its reopening, opening the door for Pendleton to open its pool for the season.

But for City Manager Robb Corbett, the financial risks outweighed the benefits.

“The swimming pool is a community asset that costs taxpayers around $250,000 per year,” he said. “There is significant risk that we could lose much more than this if we were to open,” Corbett said in a statement. “Given all of the budget uncertainty this year due to COVID, we cannot afford to take that risk.”

The Pendleton City Council just approved an aquatic center budget for the upcoming fiscal year that included operational and personnel costs, but Corbett has repeatedly warned that the budget could undergo changes in the coming months if revenue is affected by COVID-19.