Town of Barrhead has made another difficult decision when it comes to the never-ending pool dispute between the Town and the County.
Recently, the Town has decided to move forward with the construction of a new aquatic centre without the help of the County. Oh wait, they do want help; in the form of the County’s $5 million capital contribution.
How can one municipality ask another municipality for a large amount of money and tell them that is all they want. The Town is willing to discuss operational costs of the pool while it is being built but they do not want any input from the County regarding the type of building that will be built. Town of Barrhead Mayor Gerry St. Pierre discussed the fact that the Town is still requesting the County’s $5 million towards the capital cost of the project.
“We still need the County’s help because we will still need their $5 million but we will proceed to build it as our own project and build it, with what we believe, is the right facility for the town. We need their financial assistance but let us build it the way we feel is right,” said St. Pierre.
There is no possible way the County will hand over $5 million and tell the Town to have fun and build what they want. It is an unacceptable request for anyone to even consider.
For example, if a business needs an investor and someone steps up and hands over $100 million, they can’t say thanks for the money but you can’t tell us what to do. If someone puts money into a project, they should know how their money is being spent, if it is being spent soundly and most importantly, that person should get a say every time a decision is made regarding the funds.
The Town should be commended for diligently working towards getting a new aquatic centre but asking the County for money and then walking away is unfair. It is not fair to County Council and their ratepayers.
The Town of Barrhead and the County of Barrhead need to scrap all previous discussions and plans for a new aquatic centre and go back to the drawing board. If both municipalities can do that, there is a chance that Barrhead will get a pool sooner rather than later.
