Woodlands County council needs more time to come up with a way to properly engage the residents in the Fort Assiniboine and Goose Lake region before they make a decision whether or not to financially support the Barrhead Regional Aquatic Centre.
That is what Woodlands County Mayor Jim Rennie told the Barrhead Leader after councillors discussed the topic during an in camera session at their regular meeting in Whitecourt on Tuesday, March 1.
“We just want to let our partners know (town and county of Barrhead) that we are going to continue working with our residents in the Fort Assiniboine area to come up with a plan,” he said, adding the process may take six months to a year to complete. “The question isn’t necessarily if the pool is the right thing, but what are all of the right things to improve recreation in Fort Assiniboine.”
In late 2015, Woodlands County asked Fort Assiniboine and Goose Lake residents where they would like to see council spend their resources regarding recreational activities by asking two questions:
Do you believe Woodlands County should contribute capital dollars towards the Barrhead Regional Recreation multiplex with swimming pool?
If your answer was no, what type of facilities or recreational opportunities would you like to see Woodlands County consider investing in and operate?
Out of the 584 surveys Woodlands County sent out they received 114 responses.
Of the 114 responses, 64 (56 per cent) said they were against contributing to the pool while 50 (44 per cent) were in favour.
For those people who voted against contributing capital dollars to the pool, Rennie said the options people suggested varied greatly.
“It is a real mixed response from residents, between walking trails, campgrounds, improvements to the facilities and programs we already have, and the pool was one of them,” he said, adding council was also disappointed with the number of responses they received, giving them no clear direction.
One of the reasons Rennie believes the response rate was as low as it was is because the question residents were asked was too broad.
Also, as part of the engagement process with their residents, Woodlands County hopes to have an open house where representatives from the Town of Barrhead will be present and available to explain all the features of the aquatic centre.
“We just need more time to engage our residents and come up with an entire plan for recreation in that area and that is what we will be telling our municipal partners,” he said.
