Dear Editor,
Re: new Aquatic Centre
As you know, I am certainly a firm supporter of a new pool, it seems obvious to me. In 1965, when the original was built, I would bet that there was a lot of opposition to the building of such an extravagant luxury. Thank god the powers at the time had the foresight to persevere. Imagine Barrhead without the pool for the last 48 years. In 1980, when it was covered, local business men used their own money to fund it. Why would they do that? They knew they had to, to make the pool more usable and provide year round recreation and health for the community.
Our community’s population is aging. We have to do everything we can to keep our young people here after they graduate high school or come back here to raise a family after college.
In my line of work, people come to me from out of town with questions about the facilities we have to offer. Alberta is the land of opportunity for many people from other provinces in Canada and they have choices. They come here with a job offer they haven’t accepted and have other offers in hand from other communities. If we are to attract these people we have to have facilities they look forward to using. I could go on and on about this, but the main thing to keep in mind is that we need quality professionals in many fields to keep the quality of lifestyle that we enjoy in this town.
As for the design of a new pool, we have options. We could rebuild what we have and this would be more affordable. This doesn’t make sense to me though, as presently our pool is not program friendly. If you wish to use the pool consistently you have to fit in the confines of what is available. Lane swimming for instance is offered at 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., every second day. If you can make those times great, but it is usually very crowded and if you can’t make the time you are out of luck. With the design featuring a lazy river and leisure pool, lane swimming will always be available. This will be the same for many programs. The cost of replacing the existing facility only will be about two thirds the cost, compared to adding the features that make it a multiuse facility, which will attract many more users.
Further on design, the architect has offered three options that show different concepts of the facility. These are not our only options, we can change these plans entirely if needed. They are entirely for discussion and are meant to evoke debate as to what features are important and how they should layout. If you have some expertise to add to the discussion, now is the time to involve yourself. The cost of building the facility I wish to see is considerable. This is why I became involved. I will do whatever I can to make sure we dot our i’s and cross our t’s before the project goes to tender so we don’t end up with extra costs we can’t afford. I look forward to other progressive thinkers to become involved to help with this important aspect of the process.
I am confident we will get the equal support of the Town and County councils in this project. They see the need as much as I do. Such a huge undertaking requires creative thinking and careful financing. Both the Town and County have an excellent track record with their finances and this will be no exception. We do not have the money in hand of course, but neither council are buried with financial burden and have the ways and means to see this through. A considerable tax hike has been suggested as the only means they have to provide the funds required by the preliminary estimates. These figures are based on the entire amount coming from a tax increase. When the time comes to actually borrow the money, I’m confident both councils will have considered all their options for funding and our tax burden will be considerably reduced.
In closing, I ask that you get involved. Join the service clubs who are giving great support to the pool. Find a way for you or your business to contribute. The completion of this project will be a progressive step for Barrhead and would be a benchmark for our future. The one thing that keeps coming to my mind is, for our future and our children’s future think of the repercussions the people of Barrhead will suffer if we don’t build a pool.
Shannon Carlson
