Council Report: New Salmon Arm swimming pool a priority for city, just not in the short term

When will we have a new swimming pool?

This is a question residents ask council.

Residents are aware that our present pool is ageing and will need to be replaced.

We would like to build a new aquatic centre. A pool with more modern amenities like waterslides, a crazy river, a larger leisure pool and hot tub, with more swim lanes to fill our growing needs.

The City of Salmon Arm recently completed a strategic plan. An important part of this plan is prioritization of capital projects. This prioritization is based both on need and finances.

The city manages your tax dollars in the same way you manage your own personal finances. We have to plan ahead, spreading out new capital upgrades, to ensure we remain in a solid financial position.

We have a number of projects in our Short-Term Priorities. They include the sewage treatment plant, Lakeshore Road rebuild and the Auto Street Connector.

The most critical capital upgrade is the expansion of our sewage treatment plant. Presently we have a capacity of 15,000 users. We are approaching that number.

While our city population is about 20,000, many rural residents are on septic systems.

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We have three goals for this expansion. First is to increase the capacity. Second is to update our system to the most current technology. Third is to eliminate odour.

A high-level estimate of the cost for this expansion is $50 million dollars.

The Lakeshore Road rebuild includes the upgrading of the storm infrastructure under Lakeshore. When we do this, we will also resurface this important corridor and build a multi-user pathway on the north side.

The Auto Road connector will connect the present Auto Road with 14th Avenue SE. As our population continues to increase, especially in the SE sector, traffic needs to be able to move, without siphoning into the downtown residential areas.

Large projects like the building of a sewage treatment plant or aquatic centre, require the assent of the voters, to borrow the money needed for the project. For water/sewer infrastructure projects, cities generally use the counter petition method, where residents can record if they do not want the project to move ahead. If 10 per cent of the electorate records a negative petition, the project does not move ahead. For the water treatment plant built in 2013, there were only a handfull of counter petitions registered, so the project went ahead.

For recreation facilities, cities generally hold a referendum, so that all residents can vote whether they approve of the borrowing for the project or not. In this case, if over 50 per cent approve, the project can go ahead.

So, when will we be able to afford a new aquatic centre? Our strategic plan has the new pool set as medium-term project, beginning between 2025 and 2027. This may mean a referendum during the next civic election in 2026.

I think all of us would like to have a new aquatic centre in the future. We continue to grow, and this is an important amenity. Some background work has been done, but there is much more work ahead. Of course, just like with our own family finances, we have to be sure we can afford to build it!