By Cheryl Jahn

A tale of two pools

Feb 22, 2021 | 9:39 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – More than one Councillor referred to it as “ripping off the band aid.” That’s how Council described its decision to permanently close the Four Seasons Leisure Pool.

Both pools were closed last March and remained closed for several months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Council ultimately opted to re-open the Aquatic Centre, though on a limited basis.

But during budget discussions, Councillor Cori Ramsay put forward the notion of closing the Four seasons Leisure Pool as Council grappled with an austerity budget.

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A report came to Council which outlined some of the pros and cons of doing so. On the upside, the City will save about $200,000. On the downside, pool users will have no swim options while regular maintenance is conducted on the Aquatic Centre in the summer.

“It’s just a strain on our budget,” noted Ramsay.

Councillor Kyle Sampson added he “struggled” to see how residents could not manage to do without a pool for five weeks considering they went without pool access for several months at the start of COVID last year.

“A quarter of a million dollars is a lot of money to pour into an empty pool,” said Councillor Terri McConnachie.

It was also Councillor McConnachie who voted against an enhancement for the new pool. Council got an update on that project. It is on budget and is 25% complete. Administration suggested using $500,000 from a $10 million-dollar federal grant to buy what’s called a Ninja cross obstacle course. But Councillors McConnachie and Garth Frizzell voted against, saying it is too early in the project to make sudden enhancement decisions.

“It’s too early to make enhancement decisions,” noted McConnachie, whose position was mirrored by Councillor Frizzell.

However, they were the lone dissenters and the enhancement was approved.

What was also approved is a decision to spend the remainder of the $10-million-dollar grant to pay down the amount the City will borrow to pay for the new pool.

Under a referendum, city residents approved borrowing $35 million to build the new pool. With the federal grant, the City will only have to borrow $25 million.