Town Council

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According to consultant Ed Fowler, the Saugeen Shores swimming pool located at Saugeen District Secondary School (SDSS) is almost at the end of its life at 35 years.

"The most pressing issue," he explained at the recent Town Council meeting, "is the dehumidification unit.  It is definitely  on its last leg and could go at any time.  If that happens, it will rain inside the pool as the temperatures outside drop, the brickwork will begin to break down and it would mean a complete shut down of the pool."

The cost estimate of a complete overhaul, that includes renovation of the pool area, a complete gut and renovation of change rooms and offices above in addition to new mechanical and electrical, came in at almost $5 million, which includes architectural fees of almost $500,000.

"Even with the renovations," Fowler added, "the facility will not meet the new Disabilities Act that will be coming into effect.  The entrance will also remain on the upper floor with parking still at the curling rink.  Since the building was first constructed, there have been many changes to codes and the electrical and mechanical should be changed to bring them up to standard."

Mayor Mike Smith asked if the work could be spread over two to four years but Fowler explained that downtime would actually be more lengthy than tackling everything at once.

Councilor Taun Frosst said that he was opposed to spending five million dollars on a facility that would not be accessible to everybody.

Town staff recommended that Council should begin to plan for a new pool to be adjacent or attached to the PLEX in Port Elgin.  Mayor Smith said the expected $10 million for a new pool might make it difficult to finance future projects.  "I would like to see what other assets the town has that will need to be replaced over the next 25 years to make sure that we can afford a new pool."

No decision was made and the Mayor said that Council would have to review the entire situation of a refurbishment of the old pool versus a new build.

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Thursday, December 01, 2011