Central Huron Council scraps new pool proposal, will decommission old pool

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Faced with a price tag in excess of $5 million for a new pool and renovations to the pool house in Clinton, Central Huron Council decided on Tuesday night to excavate and fill in the pool and convert the area to green space.

 

This comes as the municipality entered the third season with the pool closed. The estimated cost to decommission the pool, return it to green space and renovate the existing pool house building for seasonal storage is $200,000.

 

Council held a special meeting on Tuesday night in Clinton after their June 17 meeting was cancelled. Several members of the public attended the meeting, both in-person and virtually, to express their support for keeping a pool in Clinton and encouraging council to support replacing the amenity.

 

To spur on conversation, Facilities Manager Steve Duizer presented a report with three options. The first was to move ahead with the pool replacement and pool house renovations at an estimated cost of $5,072,800, the second was to excavate and fill in the pool, return the space to grass and renovate the building for seasonal storage at an estimated cost of $200,000 and the third was to excavate and fill in the pools once again, but construct a fenced-in, multi-purpose sports pad and renovate the building for seasonal storage at an estimated cost of $350,000.

 

The first person to speak was Shawn Bruinsma of Blue Horizon Pools  and Spas near Goderich. He spoke to council as someone who has been in the industry for a while, but also as a resident of the area. He said that while he had no interest in taking the project on, he felt that costs could be shaved and the project could be simplified in order to create a more basic pool at a far reduced price, adding that he would be happy to meet with anyone who takes on the project to discuss the informal proposals.
Hillary Springer, a relatively new resident, said she moved to the community in part because of access to an outdoor pool, only to find out that it was closed when she arrived. She too felt the design and cost was elaborate and encouraged council to seek a more pared-down, affordable option.

 

Chief Administrative Officer Steve Dougherty reminded council and those in attendance that the first round of design work cost the municipality about $35,000 and that getting it redone would come at a price and, furthermore, there is no guarantee that it would come back at a lower cost.

 

Others at the meeting agreed with the other speakers, suggesting that council seek a simplified pool at a lower price.
To begin council’s conversation, Councillor Adam Robinson moved a version of Option 1, asking for a more detailed report from staff on how the pool could be funded and possible avenues for relief, such as upper-tier government grants, corporate partnerships, fundraising and work with local service clubs. Notably, passing the motion would not have committed the municipality to building a new pool - council would simply be asking staff to prepare more information on the possibility.
On that topic, Councillor Jennifer Cox said she’s been asked by residents if the municipality could be taking a bigger cut of the Clinton casino’s revenue. However, Councillor Dan Colquhoun bristled at that suggestion, saying the casino has injected over $13 million directly into the municipality since it opened and that was more than generous.

 

Councillor Michael Russo agreed that the price for a new pool was “way out of line” for what he was expecting and asked about making the pool house much less elaborate. However, Mayor Jim Ginn reminded him that most of the renovations will be to make it accessible, which would be required.

 

Doherty also chimed in, reminded council of other issues with keeping a pool open that Central Huron had been encountering in recent years, including finding enough lifeguards to staff the pool. So, even if it were to be rebuilt, there’s no guarantee that the municipality would be able to keep it open for as long as it would hope.

 

Council asked that a report be ready for the Sept. 16 meeting. However, when it came time to vote, council voted down the motion, leading to further discussion.

 

Cox then suggested Option 3 to council, finding a bit of support. However, Colquhoun quickly spoke against it. He said that training and races at the nearby raceway already had a hard enough time coexisting with the pool when it was open. To install a sports pad for basketball, pickle ball and more would be even more of a disruption, so he wasn’t in favour of it.

 

Council quickly abandoned a proposed motion to support Option 3 and Russo said he could support Option 2.

 

Doherty also noted that, comments made at the meeting notwithstanding, none of the research conducted by the municipality pointed to an appetite for a new pool. In 2023, just 42 per cent of the 308 respondents to a municipal survey were in favour of pool replacement and that was when costs were anticipated to $1.6 million.

 

Councillor Alison Lobb said she really wanted to see a way forward for a pool in Clinton, but, at the costs being presented, she couldn’t support spending the money.

 

Council passed Option 2, putting an end to the current pool in Clinton without a proposal for a replacement.