A Central Middle School playing field is being eyed by Victoria as a potential site for a Crystal Pool replacement.
Thomas Soulliere, director of parks, recreation and facilities for the city, is recommending councillors spend up to $260,000 to conduct a study looking at the feasibility of using the open field to the west of the Fort Street school for the pool.
“I think this is the absolutely best-case scenario we could have hoped for,” said Mayor Lisa Helps, adding that she has received an enthusiastic letter from the school board about partnering with the city on the option.
The recommendation comes as negotiations with RG Properties failed to reach an agreement to build a replacement pool on the parking lot next to Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, Soulliere says in a report going to councillors Thursday.
The other option for councillors, Soulliere says, is doing a feasibility study of using the city-owned Royal Athletic Park parking lot at 940 Caledonia St.
The scope of the studies should include recreation and wellness, as well as child care and affordable housing, the report says.
Although both locations are technically viable, Soulliere’s report says the school location might offer greater benefits to the community, as long as the city and school district can reach agreement on use of the land.
Locating schools and recreation facilities together is common in jurisdictions throughout the country, often leading to increased use of common assets, the report says.
Helps said the Royal Athletic Parking lot is “ripe for affordable housing.”
The city had already spent about $2 million in planning and design for a new $70-million pool and wellness facility to be built in the park adjacent to the existing Crystal Pool when council decided to change direction.
Helps said the school site is “a very, very good possibility that leaves a lot of the earlier work intact.”
Last November, responding to concerns from North Park residents about the loss of green space, councillors decided to put the park location on hold and take a closer look at building a replacement on the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre parking lot.
The move pushed the deadline for the first round of federal infrastructure funding out of reach. The city also lost the $6 million in federal gas tax funding it had secured for the project.
The feasibility study will require several months to complete and will likely not be back before council until the last quarter of this year, staff say.
Should council approve the site, staff say detailed design likely wouldn’t be completed 2021. A 2021 construction start would mean the replacement would not be completed until 2024.
“I want a pool under construction before the end of this term,” Helps said. “Because we’re going to have a fire hall under construction before the end of this term and the pool and fire hall are two things that, just like sewage treatment, have been talked about and talked about and talked about.”
The city has $10 million set aside for the pool project. While it’s hopeful it will receive senior government funding, borrowing would necessitate a referendum.
Helps noted that if Coun. Laurel Collins wins a seat in the October federal election, a byelection would have to be held, likely in February, and a referendum could be held in conjunction with that.
Soulliere said the replacement pool project needs to get underway soon, as the existing Crystal Pool is at the end of its life and the facility has numerous barriers to access.
