About four years ago, the Sundre and District Aquatic Society had asked the Town of Sundre to take over the operations of the Aquaplex.
At the time, the council of the day decided the municipality — which was already contributing a substantial amount of funding — was not in a fiscal position to be able to absorb the additional costs involved. Especially considering the facility was facing a deficit situation with a number of desperately needed upgrades and repairs.
Fast-forward to today, and the volunteer board that is responsible for the pool’s operations has since then brought the multi-million-dollar facility back from the brink of financial and physical collapse.
The aquaplex is no longer facing a deficit, and many — albeit not all — of the renovations and upgrades have been completed.
Numbers of visitors stepping through the doors to use the pool have also increased. The programs cater to all ages, from introducing children to basic swimming lessons to providing an opportunity for seniors with strained joints to remain physically active with aquasize, and much more.
Having an indoor pool that’s open year-round in a small town like Sundre makes our community that much more appealing to prospective families seeking a place to settle.
Recognizing that pools are not necessarily big money-makers, generally with a reputation of costing more to run than any revenues generated by fees or memberships, they do nevertheless encourage spinoff economic growth. The presence of a pool could be the factor that convinces someone to move here.
And of course the more people move to Sundre, the greater the local tax base becomes while local businesses have new customers. On the opposite end of that spectrum, should the pool close, there is a distinct possibility such people will simply look elsewhere, taking their tax dollars with them.
While the aquaplex was originally built by a volunteer effort pledging never to create an additional tax burden for the municipality, times and circumstances change. The municipality already has plenty of staff on hand that could do much of the work in-house, an effort currently largely duplicated by volunteers who are after many years stating to burn out.
So we urge council to make every effort to ensure the aquaplex remains open in some way, shape or form.
This is an irreplaceable asset, and as Mayor Terry Leslie recently said, the option of closing the facility’s doors is a non-starter.
— Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
