Agrena Society president Shannon Carlson last week called for his organization to have more say in the swimming pool project.
Carlson said greater involvement would boost the society’s aquatic centre fundraising campaign.
His comments came at Barrhead Town Council’s April 28 meeting.
Carlson said he was not seeking voting rights at the tri-council – the Town and County of Barrhead and Woodlands County – which is piloting the project.
Instead, he wanted the Agrena Society to be able to sit at tri-council meetings and voice opinions about the new pool.
“We are interested in where it is going to be, what it’s going to be, and how it’s going to be,” he said.
He said the Agrena Society wanted involvement from start to finish; it did not wish just to hear about decisions after they’ve been made.
Mayor Gerry St. Pierre said the tri-council was currently involved in delicate negotiations. It was felt it would not be helpful to have another party on board.
He added, however, the council welcomed the opinions of members of public.
“The final result is we have to make a decision that is in the best interests of the community.”
Last month it emerged a pool construction group was being formed, featuring representatives from Barrhead and Woodlands municipalities.
The move followed Barrhead County’s March 24 plebiscite which saw a majority “yes” vote to the municipality contributing up to $5 million towards a new pool. The results came five months after a Town poll saw about 60 per cent of residents back borrowing up to $7 million for the pool.
In the aftermath of the County plebiscite, Woodlands Mayor Jim Rennie confirmed his municipality was prepared to commit $1.5 million towards the project, subject to provisions.
One provision is that people in Woodlands County, including potential pool users from Fort Assiniboine, should have a chance to see the pool plan and have their say.
The latest pool design put together by Edmonton-based architects Barr Ryder will be displayed on May 16.
Primary user groups will have a chance to see the proposal and raise concerns with the architect.
Last week, Carlson made it clear he had no doubt the Agrena Society should have a far greater say in what is happening.
He said fundraising would be a lot easier if the Agrena Society had up-to-date information about the project which it could provide to potential donors.
St. Pierre asked Carlson whether there was a document outlining the Agrena Society’s objectives, responsibilities and mandate.
“From what I understand, its strongest mandate is to fundraise,” he said.
“Absolutely,” Carlson replied.
St. Pierre said the Agrena Society had a $1 million fundraising target for a new aquatic centre.
The society may have to raise even more funds than that, he added.
Carlson said the society had been directly involved in discussions over the building of the Agrena, irrespective of what its mandate may have been.
The community had wanted the Agrena Society’s involvement, he said.
“We were able to raise funds more effectively because we were involved in how it was done,” he said.
Carlson said the Agrena Society had acted as a good liaison between the Town and County.
Coun. Ty Assaf praised the Agrena Society for its service to the community. However, he wondered about potential legal ramifications if the organization became heavily involved in decision-making and problems subsequently emerged with pool construction.
“Where does liability come into play?” he asked.
Carlson said liability was not an issue since the Agrena Society had no wish to build the pool.
Later, Carlson told council his experience in construction could be valuable to the tri-council. For instance, he would be able to read thick blueprints on the project and identify potential cost-saving steps.
Reviewing the plans before they go to a contractor was a key step in the process, said Carlson.
The more that can be done for free at this stage the better for Barrhead, he added.
Director of Parks and Recreation, Sue Keenan, said the May 16 meeting would be a prelude to other meetings with the architect.
“I see some real value in having input from our user groups with regards to the detailed site plans, which would then go back to the tri-municipal council for final approval,” she said.
“I don’t see this meeting on May 16 as being a one-off meeting. I see there being several meeting to allow those user groups to provide some input into cost-sharing ideas that we may not know about. I think we welcome that.
“If that’s a sub-committee of the tri-committee then what do we have to lose except to put in some time?”
St. Pierre said he welcomed input from people with expertise in construction.
