Staff with the Municipality of Powassan have their work cut out for them as the council tries to maintain significant recreational infrastructure and also attempts to reduce operational and utility costs with several of its buildings.
The action plan for the pool will identify necessary repairs as well as upgrades and what the work will cost.
On October 12th, the municipality received a letter from the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit which found the outdoor pool to be non-compliant in several areas throughout the 2023 operating season.
The health unit identified six areas that need to be addressed before the pool can open again in July 2024.
This includes ensuring the flow meter turns over 15 per cent of the pool water each day by withdrawing and discharging this water to waste drains. The health unit also said the recirculation pump must be able to pump enough water through the system to ensure the pool meets the required number of turnovers each day.
There was no doubt in the minds of council members the pool needed to be repaired.
“The pool is a key anchor for the community”, said councillor Dave Britton, adding it needs to be repaired. “I've said it before, it represents the best in this community”.
Councillor Leo Patey said as soon as staff comes back to council with an action plan, council has to get a Request For Proposals (RFP) out early next year so that the pool can be repaired and be ready to open next summer.
Councillor Randy Hall agreed with his colleagues but cautioned before he supports the repairs he needs to know what those repairs will cost.
“Right now in our municipality, there are a lot of places to spend money,” Hall said.
While Hall agreed there is a benefit to having the pool, which was built by the local Lions Club nearly 70 years ago and donated to the municipality, he said the municipality still has Hydro Pond “as a backup” where people can swim. Powassan is heavily in debt and Hall said the municipality needs to move cautiously on its expenditures over the next few years and make sure it can afford the pool work.
Acting Mayor Markus Wand agreed with all the points the councillors made and also wants to see the pool open next summer.
"It's a very valuable asset," Wand said. "There are not many communities our size or even larger ones that have a pool. But saying that, I don't think we can just write a blank cheque to get the pool up and running,” Wand said.
“We need to stay within our means”.
Wand said the RFP has to go out by March at the latest in order for the municipality to consider the offers that come in and pick one. Wand believes even under this scenario, once council decides to carry out the repairs, the municipality will only get half a season from the pool next summer.
The second recreational facility that needs lots of attention and an action plan from staff is the Trout Creek Community Centre.
Councillor Randy Hall sits on the community centre board as council's representative and told his colleagues “There are structural repairs that are a concern”. Hall said one of those concerns is the roof membrane. He added there are also issues with the flooring, water and electricity. Hall says the municipality may have to hire an engineer “to evaluate what needs to be done” at the building.
“There's a lot that needs to get done and we can't let the building go,” he said.
Councillor Leo Patey agreed saying the “building is integral to the community and it's important that it be kept to a standard everyone can appreciate.”
In addition to the work that's required at the community centre building, the ball diamond adjacent to it needs upgrades and repairs as does the children's playground at the same site.
While staff work on developing a plan of action for the community centre and pool, Hall wants the municipality to start recouping the operating costs of the facilities it owns but are operated by other organizations.
“We've been walking around this issue on council for a while,” Hall said.
Hall said each time this issue is brought up it never moves forward. Hall wants staff to begin meeting with the presidents of the various organizations that use municipal facilities and develop a plan where they absorb more of the operational costs.
Hall said as an example the groups could be responsible for 25 per cent of the costs in the first year, then a bit more in the second year and a little more after that. Hall stressed the numbers he was throwing out were just examples.
Hall said right now the municipality is responsible for 99 per cent of the cost to operate the municipal facilities.
“We can't continue to move forward footing this money at a cost to the taxpayers,” he said.
He said alternatively the municipality can continue with the status quo and keep covering the operational expenses by raising taxes “by a huge amount but I don't think the taxpayers (would) appreciate that.”
Hall says getting staff to talk to the presidents now gives all the groups time to come up with ideas on how they can pay for more of the operations.
Furthermore, he adds doing this now puts the council in a better position to determine how much money to put aside when discussing the 2024 budget in the new year.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
