Gibsons residents will be getting their pool back ASAP.
Near-capacity occupancy at the Sechelt pool and “significant public feedback” indicate “there is a demand for reopening the Gibsons and District Aquatic Facility,” said recreation manager Graeme Donn at a Nov. 12 Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) planning committee meeting, before recommending an “accelerated restart” to open the pool “as soon as possible.”
Gibsons director Bill Beamish moved the recommendations and said he appreciated that the community and its “angst” over the prolonged closure had been heard. Directors voted unanimously to move ahead with the restart.
That decision didn’t provide clarity on exactly when that opening will occur, though.
Staff suggested an “optimistic” opening would be early December, but added it could take up to eight weeks to get plans in place, install protective barriers, train and recruit staff and source personal protective equipment.
Additionally, given the “current and emerging health orders applying to indoor recreation, January may be the soonest we can open,” said staff.
Staff said a provincial health order released last Saturday has led to a drop in pre-registration at the Sechelt Aquatic Centre.
The pool won’t open with normal hours and programing, due in part to staffing challenges. None of the facilities are offering regular programming or scheduling.
Programming would start with lane swimming and aquafit classes twice a week. Hours would be Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. More hours, aquatic fitness classes and swimming lessons would be added later – if the regional district can find enough staff.
The report asked for the community’s help on that front. “Community assistance with recruitment of lifeguards and aquatic fitness instructors is appreciated and invited,” it said.
While the Town of Gibsons has offered to provide $5,000 to cover costs of opening, the regional district estimated $22,500 will be added to the year-end deficit for recreation facilities if an early-December opening is achieved.
Roberts Creek director Andreas Tize said while he believed the timing was right to open the pool, he would be just as happy waiting until January and expressed concern about the ramifications of the deficit. “If we got 100 letters of complaint, and yet if we asked those 100 people if they’d be willing to pay $220 each to have the pool reopened … they would probably all say no, and yet the only people policing our budget … is us,” he said.
“We have the unenviable task of actually making those financial decisions while only hearing from one side of the story. That’s something I’m struggling with."
Sechelt director Darnelda Siegers said she agreed with Tize. “We are the ones in the end who are going to answer for whatever we spend.”
Elphinstone Director Donna McMahon said she was happy with the staff recommendations and pushed for the SCRD to try to open the pool in time for Christmas. She said the regional district should “do whatever we can to make options available” to make the holiday season easier.
Beamish agreed, and said holding to a January opening “would be inappropriate given the circumstances.” The need for seniors to socialize “has not diminished. [It] has only become greater,” he said.
He also responded to concerns about the deficit. “Our residents would say we pay the same taxation for recreation that everybody else on the Coast pays. We’re not asking for anything more than to have the service. In fact, we’re offering more to make it happen,” he said, referencing the $5,000 offer – which directors also voted to accept at the meeting.
Chair Lori Pratt said she was “happy to support this going forward” for the sake of the mental and physical well-being of the community. She also thanked residents and the Town of Gibsons council for their patience, adding she hoped “they’ll be a little more kind in some of their words.”
In October, Gibsons councillors vocalized their frustration over the ongoing closure. Coun. Stafford Lumley called the SCRD’s decision “lunacy” and “stupid.”
Sechelt director Alton Toth noted this leaves the arena in Sechelt as the last SCRD-operated facility running at “reduced usage.” Equipment upgrades are ongoing and are expected to finish by the end of the year.
The Gibsons pool has been closed since March. Both the Sechelt Aquatic Centre and Pender Harbour Aquatic Centre reopened in September.
As of Nov. 12, health authorities have not reported any cases of COVID-19 exposure associated with the facilities.
Directors unanimously adopted staff recommendations to open the facility “as soon as possible” at a Nov. 12 board meeting following the planning committee meeting.
They also considered a request by the Town for SCRD staff to provide estimates for the cost of building a multi-purpose room on the side of the Gibsons pool, using the approximately $200,000 available in the Muriel Haynes Trust Fund. The money is intended to be used for capital improvements to the pool, and was established when the Town still owned and operated it.
Directors voted on a recommendation by CAO Dean McKinley for SCRD staff to contact Gibsons staff about the uses of the fund, as well as to investigate whether expansion plans for the pool already exist.
– with files from Sean Eckford
