Dear Editor,
I feel pretty confident that the issue of a four season pool will come up during the forthcoming campaign. Internet research led me to the community of Williams Lake, BC. Williams Lake did a pool feasibility study in 2012, their study can be found via a Google search https:// cariboord.ca. It is a 26 page document full of interesting data. In 2015, Williams Lake had an urban population of 10,832 and served a large rural area. Williams Lake provides the closest relevant size to North Grenville that I can find. The cost figures shown are 2012 dollars and I expect an increase of at least 15% is not unreasonable.
Bottom line is that Williams Lake could not afford a new pool and they went ahead with a 14.2 million dollar upgrade to their existing four season pool. I doubt that our current pool would provide a worthwhile structure to upgrade.
Question for candidates is: What would a 20 million dollar debt mean to our property taxes? Do we need a feasibility study? Why reinvent things, borrow from readily available information. We have a lot of exceptionally well paid staff; surely we don’t need to hire a consultant to give us the basics. I sure hope candidates do their research before bringing up things like a pool.
Last, but not least, lets pay off the Municipal Centre and 43 expansion before we consider any new recreation projects.
Bill Gooch
