Huntsville council has approved a project to upgrade the 38-year-old changerooms at the Canada Summit Centre.
The work could cost up to $305,000 and will be funded through the town’s reserve fund.
Coun. Dione Schumacher said during the Feb. 26 council meeting that she has heard “a number of” complaints about the changerooms with Coun. Helena Renwick adding she considers the changerooms in “despicable” shape.
Greg Pilling, manager of facility operations, sales, and customer service, says the town has received a grant worth $17,966 that allows them to purchase and install up to four accessible doors for the changerooms.
All councillors were in agreement the work is needed, however, Coun. Bob Stone was concerned about the inclusion of allowing up to $375,000 to be used to replace the facility’s hot tub. He suggested that “given our financial state,” it wouldn’t be appropriate to do the project now and put forward an amendment to have the project considered as part of Huntsville’s 2025 budget.
In a report to council by Greg Pilling, manager of facility operations, sales, and customer service, he said around 20 percent of pool users at the Summit Centre use the hot tub.
However, he explained the hot tub, which was installed in 2010, is not commercial-grade and frequently breaks down.
“I don’t believe the hot tub is a necessity,” said Stone.
He along with Renwick, Coun. Scott Morrison, Coun. Jason Fitzgerald, and Coun. Monty Clouthier voted for the amended idea to only move forward with the changeroom upgrades and delay the hot tub upgrades.
While Pilling has not finalized a timeline for the work, he estimated in his report it will likely take around four weeks for the work, which he anticipates will be done in June, which is around the time when the pool is shut down for its annual maintenance. “Staff will work with contractors to minimize any negative impact on customers, programming and revenues at the pool,” he added.
