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Summerland, B.C., residents are getting closer to voting on whether or not to borrow up to $50 million for a new pool.
Ahead of voting, however, the district is now offering tours of the current Summerland Aquatic and Fitness Centre to show the need for a new one.
The tours are part of a 10-week information-sharing campaign to ensure residents are making an informed decision.
“Council knows the proposed Summerland Recreation Centre is a significant project for our community and having a fulsome and open discussion about it is critical,” said Mayor Doug Holmes.
“That’s why the district is fully committed to taking these next 10 weeks to go through detailed information about how we got here, what’s included in the facility, and how this type of investment would impact Summerland taxpayers.”
From a leaky roof to decades-old equipment, there are a number of major issues with the facility.
According to Summerland staff the centre, built in 1976, is way past its useful life and would need significant investment to fix or it would eventually be decommissioned.
“We conducted a 2018 condition assessment of the building and from that assessment, we learned that all aspects of this facility are at end of life,” said Summerland Community Services director Lori Mullin.
“So, we’re looking at our mechanical our structural systems… and so from that we recognize that we needed to create a plan really quickly on what we were going to do for the future this facility.”
Aside from tours, the district plans to host a number of in-person engagements including open houses, pop-up booths at community events, and presentations to local community groups.
“We want to make sure voters are able to make a well-informed decision based on accurate, fact-based data. That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to learn about the project and be part of the conversation,” said Holmes.
“The decision we make collectively will help shape the future of our community.”
The current plan for the new multi-purpose recreation facility includes:
- a new aquatic centre featuring a 6-lane lap pool, leisure pool, hot tub, steam or sauna room
- a fitness centre
- a multi-purpose fitness room
- a multi-purpose family/youth room
- universal access and family change rooms
- lobby, pool viewing, reception, administration offices
- modern energy efficient building standards (minimum LEED Silver).
General Voting Day for the referendum will be on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, with advance voting days on Wednesday, Oct. 25 and Tuesday, Oct. 31.
More information regarding previous studies, current information and tour dates is available on the Summerland website.
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