Town Council to Review What’s Needed at the Pool

Results of the Pool Engineering Study are in

The Town of Bonnyville has received the results from the engineering study that was conducted on the swimming pool this summer. The results of the study show that $6.4 million dollars in improvements have been identified, with $372,718 in “must do” improvements to maintain a healthy operation of the pool. Presented with the report, Town Council has decided to discuss options on what can fit into the 2017 Budget and

About a year ago a large delegation attended the Town’s Open House to discuss a want for a new pool or upgrades to the existing pool. From the Open House it appeared as though a group of people with a strong interest in seeing a new pool in the community would form a committee. After seeing the demand for a new pool, the Town decided to move forward with a needs assessment on the current facility to see if there was hope for renovations to the existing structure.

The report recommends renovating the existing facility as the preferred alternative to building a new pool. Replacing the existing facility with a new aquatic centre would cost an estimated $18-20 million; whereas completing all the recommended improvements would cost $6.4 million. As part of the engineering assessment and needs analysis study, the consultants looked at the structural, electrical, mechanical, civil and architectural systems. Recommendations regarding repair, replacement, and upgrades to the facility were broken down into “must do, should do and nice to have” categories, with the cost estimate of each item.

Bill Rogers, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, for the Town of Bonnyville, says the recommendation to Council is, “that the ‘must do’ items are added to the 2017 Capital Budget and would be done as soon as we could get them done. The ‘should do’ and ‘nice to do’ items be talked about as part of the future years’ budgeting process.” Rogers noted that should the ‘must do’ items be approved in the 2017 Budget the pool schedules for an annual two-week shut down; at which time the upgrades could be made.

Items & Estimated Cost

• Must Do   $372,718
• Should Do  $1,525,177
• Nice to Have  $6,419,730

Town Council has agreed to accept the report as presented and will give direction to Administration regarding the recommendations of the 2016 Bonnyville Swimming Pool Infrastructure Engineering Study and Needs Assessment Report.