The Town of Barrhead has committed itself to a new pool facility after it received the first of what will likely be many reports about the Kinsmen Aquatics Centre.
It would cost approximately $4.9 million to upgrade the current facility, according to the report. Mayor Brian Schulz said the report was needed in order for the Town to move further with the project.
The original pool was built around 1968 as an outside facility, and it was enclosed in the late 1970s. The purpose of the report was to evaluate the existing overall facility relative to its current condition, viability and probable short- and long-term operational investments, and to assess whether or not the facility warranted a substantial capital investment to correct expected shortcomings and deficiencies in the building.
Due to the significant numbers of major detrimental envelope and interior issues present in the building, as well as the substantial shortcomings of the existing facility relative to programmatic needs, current code compliance and high operational maintenance and cost, the report recommends the municipality should only undertake minimal and required capital investment in the facility to maintain its current operations. It is further recommended that the building eventually be demolished in favour of a new aquatics facility, which would be designed to better serve the Town and the region.
“As we expected, every indication shows that with a price tag of $4.9 million just to bring the existing pool up to code, we’re not going to put that kind of money into it,” Schulz said. “It’s painfully obvious we’re going to have to build a new facility, and we have already started the groundwork in terms of where it would be located. We will be working with the recreation board to come up with ideas for the location.”
A pool is something that is owned by the community, Schulz said. It’s a project everybody has to buy into and be excited that the community, as a whole, will be building a new pool. The only way Barrhead would be able to afford the project is if everyone supports something that is useful to the community over a long period of time.
Based on existing facility square footage of approximately 12,900 square feet and using the current industry pricing cost per square foot of between $375 and $400 for new pool facilities, to reconstruct a new facility matching the existing design and layout could cost today between $4.8 million and $5.2 million. These values exclude professional design, consulting fees, furnishings and fixtures and applicable taxes. Actual costs of any new facility can only be accurately determined after a detailed schematic design process and input from all interested parties.
As a further cost comparison, the report lists several other pools that were constructed as far back as 2007. Beaumont Pool had a price tag of $15,000,000 and was built in 2010; High Prairie Pool had a price tag of $6,000,000 and was built in 2006-2007; Whitecourt Pool had a price tag of $20,000,000 and was built in 2009-2010.
Coun. Don Smith said the Town is doing its due diligence in researching the options through these assessments.
“If there are any risks, they will come to our attention right away, and we’ll hold an emergency meeting to see what needs to be done,” he said. “For now, I have no problem going with the status quo.”
In its executive summary, the report to Town Council states the current location of the centre is ideal in the community. It is situated and connected in a synergistic way to the other primary sports venues of the region and has ample parking and good access. Further, the overall site is large enough to facilitate a pool in its current location, or as a standalone facility elsewhere on the overall site. The site also has good exposure and close proximity to the main highway through the town, which would be attractive to partnering businesses, such as hotels, lease tenants, and other sports groups within the local population this complex serves.
Schulz said there have been discussions about tearing down the current facility and placing the new pool right there, as well as building it outside the sports grounds area, or removing some baseball diamonds to utilize the thermal zone for heating the pool. There are a lot of different aspects to look at, he added.
“If we were to build it on the current site, we’d be without a pool for a year and a half, and that’s unacceptable. We need to maintain the growth of usage we’ve experienced with the pool. Yet there might be room directly to the north of the current pool that has potential for a building site.”
The plans also have to include room for future expansion, Schulz added.
“We don’t want to just jump right into this, and we have to ensure the old pool remains stable and safe until the new one is built.”
Like the Agrena, he said, the Town wants to make sure residents have something of which the entire community can be proud.
“The Agrena society was and still is a fantastic group of people that spearheaded the fundraising efforts for the Agrena, and we need a similar group to come forward for the pool. They’d raise funds, and we’d get money from provincial grants and hopefully from federal grants, and some from taxpayers. There will also be corporate and public donations, which is exactly what happened with the Agrena.”
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