News Article: Pondering a pool's future

From New West News Leader (Link here: http://www.newwestnewsleader.com/news/141930883.html)

Pondering a pool's future

By  Grant Granger - New Westminster News Leader
Published:  March 08, 2012 4:00 PM

With apologies to W.P. Kinsella, New Westminster Hyack Swim Club coach Mark Bottrill says, “If you build it, we will come.”
“It” is not a new baseball field. “It” is a new 10-lane pool on the Canada Games Pool property that would attract provincial, national and international meets and renovate the old one for the many other recreational and competitive demands there are in the community. “We” is the swim community and water lovers.
“If you build it, we will come. If there’s pool space to be had, we will try to find a way to program it,” insists Bottrill.
Easier said than done.
The Canada Games Pool (CGP) celebrates its 40th birthday this year. It’s not a young 40, though. Having undergone several minor facelifts, upgrades and tune-ups over the years, it is not aging gracefully. 
Major systems within the facility, such as mechanical, electrical and plumbing, are nearing the end of their life cycle, and the costs to update them are significant, says city parks and recreation director Dean Gibson. Some parts work but aren’t so pretty. Take, for example, the concrete deck.
“For serviceability it works just great, [but] it looks horrendous, has all sorts of patches in it and looks like a deck that looks its age,” says Gibson.
This week, Coun. Jonathan Cote, chair of the city’s parks and recreation commission asked council to consider starting a reserve fund as a first step toward financing either a renovation or a replacement of the Canada Games Pool.
“It’s a good time. The facility hasn’t reached the end of its life, but we’re all aware of the challenges it’s going to face in the future, so the time to start talking about how we’re going to pay for this really is now,” says Cote. “It’s an incredibly important facility in New Westminster, and the city has to support it. I get a lot of people that express their appreciation of the facility, but you also get the comments that it’s dated and not a modern aquatic facility any more.”
Cote said the city needs to keep its options open. But it also must make a decision.
“Regardless what option you’re going to choose it’s going to be $15 to $50 million,” said Cote, who suggested one of the financial solutions could be to put a small levy on using parks facilities such as charging $3 extra for swimming. “That may be a little bit unpopular for some, but if the public knows there may be an opportunity for a new facility there may be a community buy-in.”
The need to do something has also been made more imperative by neighbouring communities such as Burnaby, Surrey and Coquitlam either upgrading existing facilities or building new facilities that could take away from CGP.

Outlining the options

In 2010, Cannon Design completed a study on the pool and its next door neighbour, the Centennial Community Centre (CCC), built in 1967 for Canada’s 100th birthday.
The structure, said the report, has visible cracks in the floor and foundation, is not up to seismic standards and has mechanical, plumbing and pool systems that have exceeded their service lives and should be replaced.
Besides suggesting a minimal fix and upgrade that would extend the building’s life for five to 10 years, the study suggests three options.

The first would retrofit the existing buildings. 
The second would be a retrofit, and addition of 22,500 square feet for a new lobby and fitness building that would link CGP with CCC, and a new 20,500 square foot leisure pool and space.
The third, which the report’s authors supports, recommends everything in the second option, plus a new 10-lane, 52-metre pool where the current sports field and recycling depot sit. 
Once the new pool was built the old one would be demolished and a new sports field built in its place.
The three options range from $22 million to $55 million in 2010 dollars, says the report.
“[Option 3] represents the best value for investment, the greatest ability to meet future increased demand and the best siting of the building,” said the report.

Another solution

One option not being considered, at least to this point, is one Bottrill has proposed. The present 67-metre, eight-lane tank itself isn’t antiquated, he says. It’s other things like the filtration system and lighting that are. So he suggests the pool itself be retained for a myriad of uses, and a brand new 10-lane pool be built beside it. He’s seen a similar situation in Pointe Claire, Que., a Montreal suburb, where a new pool was added to the existing one successfully at a reasonable cost.
“From a competitive swimming point of view, the (CGP) tank is antiquated. It’s too shallow, and the lanes are too narrow, so you really can’t host any high-level meets,” says Bottrill. “Our ability to bid on any Swim BC events is very minimal. Certainly nationally, the last time we hosted Western Canadian championships was 2001, and we haven’t gone back there because it’s really hard to get the pool outside the already designated times that we have.”
Bottrill believes the wide array of events doesn’t just benefit competitive swimming. “When you do this you’re bringing in economic impact for the community.”

More than water

CGP isn’t just about the pool. The fitness facility, built on the deck and  mezzanine area gets tons of use, despite the accompanying heat and humidity from the pool. Even the Cannon Design report notes the 6,000 sq. ft. space operates at near peak capacity during much of the day with a common sight being more than 120 users working out at its 80 activity stations. 
Instructor Andrew Evans, who has worked there for six years, says it’s so popular, just like the television show Cheers, everyone knows their names.
“The Canada Games Pool is the most important civic facility in New Westminster. Hands down, it’s the most heavily used building in the city,” says Evans. “Personally they could use some modernization, but keep the general feel and atmosphere of what they have already. They need to be proactive in addressing the facility rather than reactive.”
Being proactive would is what Cote seems to be suggesting. 
“If we don’t address this now we could be caught in a very bad place 10 years from now.”