Dear Editor,
Does municipal “idiocy” exist? It certainly seems like it does to us in the Town of Barrhead! The pool was supposed to stay open until June; unfortunately, and in our opinion, to everyone’s amazement, the immediate decision by Town council was to shut the pool down February 13th. Wow! No leniency whatsoever! The sole reason given was for the safety of the patrons and employees. Now safety seems to be a major concern, but it sure seems like it wasn’t an issue in the town’s eyes for the last three years when maintenance appears to have been totally neglected!
The following is from the 2011 analysis of the pool:
“Further investigation by Third Party environmental consultants is recommended and immediate action is required.”
By the current condition of the pool we believe it clearly shows the Town had not followed through with this recommendation regarding health and safety issues with the pool. Now all of a sudden health and safety is an issue and the town used this three-year-old report to aid in the justification for their immediate decision to close the pool.
One cannot help being completely sympathetic towards the employees that depended on the pool for work experience and wages. The town terminated their employment immediately! We were told one employee found out through Facebook that their employment was terminated. Another employee from the pool we spoke with, said that pool employees had to conduct minor repairs themselves because the town would not send anybody for maintenance. They had pleaded with former Parks &Recreation director(s) the issues that needed immediate attention; in turn the Parks &Recreation director brought the issues to the town’s attention. Unfortunately, it appears nothing was done.
The town says they don’t want to throw good money after bad. We absolutely agree with this decision, no sense wasting taxpayer’s money! Why would the Town spend $60,000 on a new facility analysis when it appears to us they didn’t follow through with any of the recommendations made in 2011? Why would the Town contract an architect company who then subs engineers and in turn say they need another third party for further investigation? Unbelievable! Barrhead has capable professional contractors that have the certification to give a thorough analysis, why were they not contacted? The Town expects its residents to shop locally, what is the town’s excuse for not using local contractors?
We had an interesting meeting with the new Parks &Recreation director Sue Keenan who commented that there was concern with the interior walls regarding mold. “We don’t know what’s in these walls.” You mean to tell us that out of all the money spent on the facility analysis not one engineer or employee of the Town had a moisture reader? A moisture reader is inexpensive and easy to use: stick a probe through the sheet rock, wait a few seconds and read a number. Currently Keenan has been tasked by council to recommend whether or not the facility should be demolished. We have questions – how does one make this decision – is it based on a visual analysis? Is the Town’s newly hired Parks &Recreation director a construction and demolition expert? Have town councillors advised her to take a look at the attached curling rink which shares a common wall? What about the nearby museum, bowling alley and other buildings that are all constructed from cinder block – should they be demolished? We strongly recommend taking a look at the mortar and cinder block on these other buildings and compare before quickly judging the structural integrity of the pool building without any legitimate factual tests.
In our opinion a suspended “T” bar ceiling should never had been installed underneath the main bearing ceiling in a building with virtually 100 per cent humidity. Has anyone checked to see if the condensation is a roof leak? No repairs were done to the lower roof in the main lobby when there were a few weeks of plus temperatures outside. This appears to be an absolute display of ignorance and disrespect to the patrons and employees as buckets were left throughout the pool to collect the water from the roof. Not to mention the lack of caution/safety signs for this area. This clearly displays in our minds the Town’s efforts to increase a rapid deterioration of this facility in an aggressive manner in order to facilitate the decision to build a completely new Aquatic Centre.
Are you aware in the 2011 study that the engineers requested the blueprints from the original construction of the building, but did not receive them?
“RJC performed a visual inspection only and did not have access to structural drawings.” “No testing or engineering analyses conducted for this review of the pool building.”
Inquiry to owner:
• Are structural drawings available? RJC requests architectural and structural drawings of all phases of the work: 1960s, 1970s, 1998 &2000. This would help immensely and save a lot of time and effort, which means less cost.
• Given that the curling rink and pool share a common masonry wall, architectural and structural drawings for the curling rink are also requested.
• What is the current roof construction? RJC needs this to assess dead load on structure.
Surely the town must of had a filing system for past projects. Realistically and accurately it is clearly safe to imply that this report “Facility Analysis” from 2011 is completely based on visual observation that has no bearing on the integrity of the structure whatsoever. In other words, all information gathered was a complete waste of time and taxpayers money! Anybody with a camera can take a picture.
Since the closure, the Town council says it is up to the county to match funds for the new pool. Talk about putting the pressure on the last resort for funding. Is this all a preemptive plan for the town to get their way? We had a pleasant meeting with the county councillors on Tuesday the 18th, some questions could be answered, some questions could not because it seemed as though some councillors are reserved on their opinions. Bottom line is that the county has a maximum $5 million cap, and whether it will be donated is still dependent on the March 24th plebiscite. Our biggest concern with the county donation of $5 million is that they will contribute it without any conditions added. It would be realistic to not ask for any conditions if the town was financially stable, however we don’t believe this is the case. It should be clearly understood that the money that the county has in reserves is already allocated/earmarked for future projects, and if anyone thinks that the county is able to conveniently write a open cheque, they are sadly mistaken. The $5 million dollars will be a loan from the government that the county will apply for. The county explained very clearly to us that they do not intend to max out their borrowing capacity, nor will they use any part of their reserves to deviate from other needed projects for their county residents.
We wonder if the town is going to max out their borrowing capacity at 7 million and not take into consideration other infrastructure that needs to be maintained. Are you aware that when the Town applies for their yearly government grants that it is not guaranteed? For example, if the Town applies for 4 million they may only receive 2.5 million. How will the Town pay for increased operating costs on a new pool? What happens if a water main breaks on Main Street and needs repair? Where will the money come from? Does this mean an increase in taxes to the local residents again?
Are the good people from Barrhead aware of the current state that our neighbour is in? The county residents for Westlock opposed monies be loaned through a plebiscite for the construction of the new Spirit Centre. The Town of Westlock went ahead with town resident’s support and built the Spirit Centre without funding from the county, thinking that it would bring more people to the facility and to the Town. The Town of Westlock 2012 audit shows over a 10 million dollar debt and over a $600,000 combined yearly total operating deficit. Where is the government bailout on this? It’s not all that rosy on the other side of the county line!
Be aware people –this is not a walk in the park! Barrhead cannot afford a 17 million dollar pool!
Brian Miller
Brian Ohlendorff
