As the date of the plebiscite nears, town and county councils held their final information sessions in Barrhead, on Sept. 28, and in Neerlandia, on Sept. 29, in an effort to bring clarity to speculations on operating costs and what a vote either way would mean for the aquatic centre project.
County Reeve Bill Lee said that the plebiscite for the county was being held at the town’s request, and added that it was important to recognize how the residents might feel about an issue such as the debenture.
“It’s going to be a very difficult decision for the council’s to make, if it comes in at say, 49-51, if it is a no vote,” Deputy Reeve Doug Drozd said.
“For me, it’s always been about the operating costs,” he said, and added that he had recently had the opportunity to tour Whitecourt’s aquatic facility. “One of the features there that I really liked was their five-year sponsorship program. The competition pool, the current, all of the other features, they all have sponsorship by some company, but I can’t remember the names of all the sponsors.”
According to Drozd, Whitecourt’s unique solution to drive operating costs down is attractive and the councillor hopes to have something like that in Barrhead.
“We’ve got huge boxes of these donor programs waiting to be delivered, we are all ready to do this,” Shannon Carlson, president of the Agrena Society, said. “In the town and the county, we’ve got some businesses that get solicited every single day, but there are a lot of others that don’t. We have a list of businesses we plan on hitting.”
Barrhead Mayor Gerry St. Pierre explained that what Carlson was referring to are called sponsorship packages.
“We weren’t going to deal with that until we knew for sure that this pool was going to be built,” St. Pierre said, and added that no corporation was going to pledge any money until there was a certainty that the project was going forward.
“I’m for a pool, 100 per cent, and I think we need one for our community,” Vince Wiese, a county resident, said. “I think this one is a little bit over the top for our needs and I’m not really happy with the plan, at all. This was supposed to be, in the beginning, for our children and their kids, and I know some seniors will use it, but not a lot will, and the vast majority of the people who actually used the old pool were by far kids and families.”
The currently proposed design, Wiese said, does not recognize that truth.
Rita Lyster, a founding member of Making Waves, a pharmacist in Barrhead, and a known proponent of the town’s aquatic project, however, insisted that the pool was necessary for Barrhead’s long-term survival.
“One of the biggest things I want people to understand is what it will cost them,” she said, and reiterated a challenge made at Summerdale Hall on September 23.
“I had challenged all of you to take a look at your budget and how much you spend for what you consider ‘essential’ things,” Lyster said. “I know many of you still haven’t done that calculation yet, and I’m not telling you how to spend your money, but I’m willing to bet all of us can find a way to afford this pool.”
