Construction of the new aquatic centre will be delayed. Depending on which Barrhead town councillor you talk to the delay could be as short as three months or a year to more than a year.
On Friday, June 26, during a special meeting, Barrhead town council unanimously voted to delay the passing of the debenture bylaw which if passed, would have allowed the town to borrow $5 million, its portion of the construction costs of a new pool facility.
Coun. Don Smith made the motion after Martin Taylor, Town of Barrhead CAO, requested that council postpone the vote after he received a petition asking council to take a second look at the aquatic centre project.
Taylor informed council that he received a petition on Wednesday, June 24 (see Petition organizers submit pool petition on page 1) and that in his capacity of CAO, he needed to determine the validity of the petition.
If Taylor finds the petition to be valid council has two options regarding the borrowing bylaw, according to the Alberta Municipal Government Act.
“Council can decide not to proceed with said bylaw or you can decide to go ahead with the bylaw sending it to a vote of the electors within 90 days of the CAO finding the petition sufficient,” Taylor said.
Barrhead mayor Gerry St. Pierre, said he was disappointed about the latest turn of events regarding the aquatic centre, adding that he questioned how the petitioners went about getting the names.
“After talking to several people in the past few days regarding this petition, he said, I was told there was some coercion, intimidation and some misleading statements made in order to receive some of these signatures.”
An example St. Pierre gave was that one of the petition volunteers told people that the operating cost of the pool would be $1 million a year.
“That’s misleading. Certainly the costs of operating the facility is $1 million, but that doesn’t take into account the revenue generated from user fees, rentals and so on,” he said, adding that the revenue taken in would cover about 50 per cent of the operational costs. “The costs wouldn’t be much more than we were paying to operate the old aquatic centre.”
St. Pierre then asked Taylor, if it was proved that petitioners misrepresented the facts or other illegitimate means to obtain signatures, would the petition still be considered valid.
Talor said as CEO his task is clearly defined.
“I have to verify the name, address and the date. I have no jurisdiction beyond that,” he said.
Opponents of the aquatic centre argue the town’s projection of revenue for the new aquatic centre are vastly inflated.
For example, in the preliminary draft budget, released in March, Barrhead administration staff projects the sale of season tickets and bulk passes for the aquatic centre’s first year of operation (2016) at $205,000. In 2012 and 2013, the amount of sales generated from season tickets and bulk passes at the old aquatic centre totalled $23,971 and $24,946 respectively.
St. Pierre said over the last four years council has done its due diligence and has come up with, what they believe, is the right facility for the community at an affordable price.
He said because of the petition, construction on the pool will be delayed by at least three months, adding that the Agricultural Society’s fundraising efforts would be similarly delayed.
Coun. Ty Assaf said he was also disheartened when he heard about the petition.
“I know it’s people’s democratic right, but we, as a council, have been elected to be their voice,” he said, adding the council has given the public many opportunities to voice their opinion on the pool, through open houses and talking with both town and county residents. “The consensus was to build what is in our concept drawings.”
Assaf added council has worked hard to lower the construction costs, saying that originally the pool was slated to cost $28 million and now it is down to $13 million.
“And to those 511 people, thank you very much, who think we are going to save money, we’re not. In a year’s time when we actually start this project we are going to have inflation involved.”
Assaf concluded his comments by asking the residents who are in favour of the pool going forward to make their voices heard.
A sentiment that was echoed by Coun. Roy Ulmer.
“I would bet money that if I went around to every resident and business in the Town of Barrhead, I would get a lot more than 511 votes in favour of the pool. I guarantee it,” he said.
Coun. Don Smith agreed with both Ulmer and Assaf, saying he doesn’t believe the people who signed the petition reflect the majority of residents views.
“I believe the majority of our community want this pool and it is unfortunate. Now that it has been delayed I think we are really going to start to hear from the people who want this pool to go forward,” he said. “I’m disappointed, but we have to move forward with this pool. It is right for our community.”
Coun. Shelley Oswald said she was confident that council, in pursuing the pool, were doing the right thing for the community.
“This project is wonderful for our community and it is needed,” she said. “We just have to continue to work hard and follow the process and we will achieve that goal.”
Coun. Ryan Warehime said he too would continue to work towards building an aquatic centre in Barrhead.
“For those concerned about the operating deficit, to put it into perspective, the Agrena is operating at a deficit that on an hourly basis is larger than the one projected for the aquatic centre and we don’t hear anyone concerned about that,” he said. “It’s manageable and it would be even more manageable if it were shared amongst the community.”
Taylor will present his report regarding the petition at a special council meeting on Tuesday, July 21 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
