Barrhead County Council is on bended knee, hoping the town will revisit the aquatic centre costs.
Barrhead County Council is on bended knee, hoping the town will revisit the aquatic centre costs.
On Tuesday, May 19, councillors passed a motion to send a letter to the town asking them to reconsider the capital cost of the $13 million aquatic centre project.
“I would like to make a motion that we send a letter to town council, begging them to reconsider the scope of this pool,” Coun. Darrell Troock said. “To make it affordable for all of our communities.”
Troock added the expense of the project is “more than the community can bear.”
“I think we as a council should have a last word on this, begging them to reconsider,” Troock said, adding this may be their last opportunity to voice their concerns.
“I want the words ‘ beg of you,' in that letter,” Troock said. “This is going to hurt us, no matter when, where, and how. We will feel a lot better saying we told you so, saying we told you before you built it to reconsider the size and cost to our ratepayers, and we wrote you a letter, and we begged you to consider it. The thing is, in the history books it will say the county did not want to forfeit that kind of money for such a big project.”
Reeve Bill Lee asked where the funding for the project is coming from, since Woodland's County has bowed out of the project.
“They still think there's more money going to come,” Lee said, adding the county will be contributing what they originally agreed to, $5 million in capital, and what they consider fair for operations.
In 2017, after an election, the newly elected council will decide what they can afford for operations, however it may be more or less than what they are currently considering contributing, councillors said.
Troock said council is all for the project moving forward, at a reasonable cost.
“We want a pool,” he said. “I want a pool, and I want this community to have a pool, but I want it to be affordable.”
Troock said it might not be the cost of the facility itself that is so worrisome, but the cost of running it.
“To calculate the design of this pool around 17 hours a day is absolutely a pipe dream,” Troock said. “It's a pipe dream that I don't think is fair, and it's not fair to my ratepayers whether we deal with it now or the next two years, or when it comes around to the next election of council, we are going to have to face these operating costs again, and it's never ever going to stop.”
“I'm scared,” Troock continued. “I'm scared this community is not going to be able to afford it.”
“We are worried about the financial future of the municipalities,” Lee said.
Troock explained how the facility is too expensive to remain open for one or two residents.
“Here at six o'clock at night you could roll a bowling ball down Main Street and not hit a car,” Troock said. “To have a pool to allow two or three people to go in the morning and lane swim is too expensive.”
Councillors expressed their concerns with what this means in regards to amalgamation.
Deputy Reeve Doug Drozd said county residents would have a say.
“There will be no amalgamated municipality based on poor decisions like this, there's no way the county residents are going to agree,” Drozd said.
“It wouldn't bother me if we didn't have amalgamation on the table,” Troock said, adding if the town and county amalgamate this project will become the county's concern.
“Darrell's right,” Lee said. “We could be inheriting this.”
Lee added that maybe the letter should also voice those concerns.
“Sometimes you have to explain things, and if that's your intent then we should put it in there,” he said.
Coun. Ron Kleinfeldt said a project of this size is difficult to agree to.
“We just don't know what's coming down the pipe,” he said. “I'm afraid too, that they're going to build it and not be able to afford to operate it.”
Coun. Bill Lane said he also believes the facility is too extravagant for the size of community.
“We need something we can afford, and the operational costs are way out of line,” he said.
The letter explains council's concerns with the operating costs, and the scope of the facility, and begs them to reconsider the capital costs of the project, and will be sent to the Town of Barrhead in time for their next council meeting on Tuesday, May 26.
