The Madoc Pool will be permanently closing.
That decision was made by Centre Hastings council following a recommendation from staff.
Speaking with Quinte News, Centre Hastings mayor Tom Deline says maintaining the pool had become a struggle.
“Last year we had the YMCA lined up to try to run a program there, and then found out there was so much to be done to it, to at least even get it open,” Deline said.
“It doesn’t meet many of the legal standards today so we didn’t have time to get the parts we needed to repair it last year.”
He said when looking at opening the pool this year, the costs to repair the pool have become too great to be financially viable.
“For this year, when we looked at the amount, it was not too off $100,000 just to get enough repairs to maybe try to get it open, and it doesn’t meet, as I say, today’s standards for the type of pool we’re talking about,” Deline said.
“So council made the decision to not open it this year and they probably will remove that pool.”
Community members had raised money to the tune of $185,000 for the pool. That money is being held in a municipal reserve fund.
The municipality reached out to fundraisers and has begun planning a formal public engagement process to help redirect the funds into existing recreation in Centre Hastings.
In a release, the municipality released reasons for the permanent closure of the pool.
- The pool’s condition has worsened significantly over the past several years.
- The costs to bring it up to meet safety standards exceed $150,000, not including the costs of lifeguards and day-to-day maintenance. This investment would only be a short-term measure and not a long-term solution.
- Building a new pool is out of the municipality’s financial reach.
- The pool has seen very limited use over the past several years.
- Recruiting enough qualified lifeguards has been challenging.
- Other, more popular recreational facilities, need repair.
Updates about the public engagement will be made at Centre Hastings’s website.