Tensions remain high following fiery city council debate

“This project has been in the making for four or five years. We’ve looked at every possible opportunity to minimize the shutdown, and they (City staff) came back and said it has to be two years,” he continued.

Yesterday’s lengthy debate was ignited by a letter from the Prince George Barracudas Swim Club, which called the pool closure an “existential threat,” prompting Councillor Trudy Klassen to call for a report on minimizing potential disruptions.

“We kept being told (by City staff) that the community, and especially these swim clubs, were on board, that they had been well consulted and, for the most part, their needs were being met. There’s a disconnect there between what staff told us and what we were acting on, and that’s why we didn’t raise a fuss about the two year shutdown. It’s because we had been told that all was good,” Klassen said.

“We’ve had this discussion before, we’ve had robust debate, and to bring it back at this very late stage where we’ve already selected a contractor, we’ve started the work, the preliminary work, and we’re literally less than two months away from beginning a very complex, difficult project. To me, it was somewhat performative,” Polillo said.

As for the issue surrounding a contractor already being chosen, Klassen doesn’t believe this should impede the City on reviewing the case again.

“I know that there was a comment certainly about the contract and ‘oh my goodness, you can’t change a contract.’ Well, anybody who’s ever done a contract knows that you can change a contract. So, to me, based on my experience, that’s really not a major issue,” she said.

“I think it’s absolutely imperative that we bring up those concerns and see if we can’t do something that hasn’t been thought of before, to make it work better for them,” she continued.

For Polillo, his frustration came not because of the issue itself, but because he was insistent that this has all been discussed before in the years of work it took to make this project happen. If these discussions were already had, he raised the question of what the purpose even was to bring it up again so close to the beginning of the project.

“We knew that, we were going to face some criticism towards a two year shutdown. I was prepared to face that and deal with that,” he said.

“It was a frustrating conversation for me personally. I tried to make the point quite clearly that we’ve had these discussions before, we’ve made a decision, and that we have to move forward,” he continued.

As for Klassen, she believed that after having heard the Barracudas Swim Club’s letter, another look was warranted.

“I think our (City) staff is fabulous at being able to look at things and consider new information because that is what every professional does, and that’s all I’m asking. Obviously, the rest of council didn’t feel that way, but I don’t think it’s anything unusual in the business world to revisit a contract last minute and look at that and say ‘hey, wait a minute, maybe we need to change some of this.’ It’s nothing unusual in the business world,” Klassen said.

Ultimately, Council would vote against Klassen’s motion 6-3, so the Aquatic Centre closure will move forward as planned beginning January 1, 2026.

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by Tommy Osborne

Tensions remain high following fiery city council debate

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