After three years without a pool, the Barrhead region is just about ready to dive into their new aquatic centre.
The Town of Barrhead’s chief administrative officer Martin Taylor said he expects the new $12-million facility to open in June and start advertising for new employees at the beginning of 2017.
He said the process has been a long one, which started in the hands of the small, dedicated Agrena Society. The town eventually took over the project about a year and a half ago.
He noted that the town has been without a pool for three years, as the old facility was past its life cycle had to be shut down.
“This is a long process – I could spend days talking about this,” he said. “I’ve been in the aquatic business, the parks and rec business. I told my council, ‘You know, an aquatic centre is just as complex as a water treatment plant.’”
According to documents from the Town of Barrhead, residents voted yes to a $7-million borrowing bylaw for their new pool in 2013. In 2014, the town and the county agreed to pay $5 million each, with the town’s leadership on procurement and construction costs. The original estimates put the new pool construction costs at $15 million, but those capital costs have dropped to $13 million.
In addition to the town and county cash, the local Agrena Society is holding a fundraising campaign to raise $1.5 million for the pool – according to the town’s website, they have raised $650,000 so far. Taylor also said the project is also being funded by grants.
Taylor said it is important to recognize that the aquatic facilities of today are quite complex, and the days of volunteers running facilities have gone “pretty much the way of the dodo bird.”
“These facilities are a lot different from they were in 1977,” he said. “These facilities are worth $12, $15, $20 million dollars. You need qualified staff to manage them, to keep them built.”
He also noted there are always disagreements with a project of this magnitude.
“It’s no different than someone buying a house,” Taylor said. “Select the colour of the house. You talk a lot about money, some people want a big one, some want a small one.”
Town of Barrhead population: 4,432
County of Barrhead population: 6,096
Estimated construction cost: $12 million
Features: Six-lane 25-metre pool, zero-depth entry pool, lazy river, 40-person hot tub, steam room, indoor access link to Agrena facility
