Rotary Pool to be closed for 2020 season
By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express
Those looking for a public swim this summer are set to lose an option as Rotary Pool will officially be closed this summer for repairs.
At their most recent meeting, city council voted in favour of closing the public pool in order to make repairs to the crumbling structure on the corner of Gibb Street and Centre Street.
As previously reported by The Oshawa Express, council was waiting to hear back about a grant from the province to fix a number of issues previously reported.
The community services committee had recommended shutting down the pool, with Ward 4 City Councillor Derek Giberson bringing the motion forward at the committee level. At the time, he noted it was a catch-22, and acknowledged it wasn’t an ideal situation.
Whether or not the city has received the grant from the province has yet to be announced, but will be made clear in the spring or the summer.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $8 million, with the city contributing $2.1 million if the grant is approved.
While no councillor ultimately opposed closing the pool for the 2020 season, Ward 5 City and Regional Councillor Brian Nicholson was hesitant.
He initially presented a motion to have the recommendation to close the pool be received for information, but was stopped when it was ruled out of order.
Nicholson explained the reason he wanted to have it received for information was because he feels the possibility of closing the pool has been superseded by another event: COVID-19.
“When the report came forward, at that point we were not dealing with the issue of COVID, in 2019 we were looking at a process that the closure of the pool be for engineering services, and it’s a moot point right now because the province has ordered the closure of these facilities anyway,” he explained.
He explained he was concerned about the perception that council hadn’t looked at alternate methods for residents to use other facilities around the city.
“The distance from the rotary pool to other facilities is extremely long,” he said.
He expressed his hope that city staff have taken a “long look” at other forms of transportation so residents can still use swimming facilities in the city.
Mayor Dan Carter attempted to assuage Nicholson’s fears regarding the pool.
“Right now it’s very difficult to predict the future, and I know that our staff will do everything they possibly can to try and help accommodate those that would like to use a public swimming facility,” said Carter.