Dozens of people showed up at the Multi-Purpose Room last Thursday to view revised plans for Barrhead’s new aquatic centre.
Three draft designs were on display, each one containing a six-lane 25-metre pool, zero depth entry pool, a 24-person whirlpool and a current channel similar to a lazy river.
Concept #1 is the most expensive, with a projected cost of $17,250,000 and a total area of 2,834 square metres.
Concept #2 has a price tag of $14,689,000 and a main floor area of 2,357 square metres. The estimated cost of Concept #3 is $14,648,000; the main floor area is 2,350 square metres.
People were able to see the elevation concepts, which gave an idea of how the aquatic centre would look from the outside.
The latest pool options have been put together by Edmonton-based architects Barr Ryder.
The turnout at the 5 p.m.-8 p.m. meeting was relatively low. At any one time there were no more than 30 people in the room.
Barrhead County Council – which has shown reluctance to embrace the pool project, citing concerns about cost – was well represented. Present were reeve Bill Lee, deputy reeve Bill Lane, councillors Darrell Troock, Doug Drozd, Marvin Brade and County Manager Mark Oberg.
For the Town, councillors Don Smith, Roy Ulmer and Shelley Oswald turned up, along with Chief Administrative Officer Martin Taylor. Mayoral hopeful Mark Vriend and several other Town and County candidates attended too.
Also there was Barr Ryder partner/architect Steven Bushnell and pool project fundraising leader Shannon Carlson, who is president of the Agrena Society.
Members of the public approached by The Leader voiced support for the project.
Some, however, raised concerns about the price tag, saying they would prefer costs to drop to the $10 million mark by removing the current channel component. A few people argued that the main pool and the leisure pool should be separated.
Others were adamant they wanted the pool to contain all the bells and whistles, so that it became the envy of the region, enabling Barrhead to develop and compete with other communities.
CAO Martin Taylor said the latest pool proposals would go on display in the Town office lobby.
“We want to get people to talk about them,” he said.
He said the architects and the Parks and Recreation advisory committee would discuss people’s comments about the concepts.
Another Open House, he added, would be held in October, possibly on the 8, 9 or 10. Details will be released nearer the time.
The site for the proposed pool is a five-acre parcel of land at the corner of 49 Street and 58 Avenue, across from the Petro-Canada gas station. The Town bought the raw land from the Schneider family for $175,000. It is part of a 14-acre plot, within sight of the Shepherd’s Care facility.
Originally, ballpark figures mentioned for a new pool were in the $12-15 million range.
At a July meeting of the Barrhead Agrena Society and Recreation Department, however, Barr Ryder released estimates of $21-$24 million.
Town councillors – as well as County Councillor Bill Lane – expressed concern at the high projected costs. Bushnell said refinements could be made to reduce them.
On Oct. 21, Town residents will have a chance to vote on the pool project through a plebiscite.
They will be asked: Subject to fundraising $1,000,000 from other sources, do you support the Town of Barrhead borrowing up to $7,000,000 to finance the $15,000,000 new aquatic centre, with the understanding that it will result in an estimated tax increase of $95 for every $100,000 in property assessed value and the project will not proceed unless the County of Barrhead supports the project at 50 per cent of the costs?
The County has held off from letting its residents vote on the issue.
Last week, reeve Bill Lee said he believed it sensible to wait until after the Town plebiscite.
He added many people in the County were farmers who were busy harvesting and didn’t have time to consider all the ins and outs of a pool.
“We will hold our own plebiscite in the winter,” he said.
