Mayor-elect set to talk pools with Y

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This article was published 03/11/2010 (5578 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s not just an election promise.

Brandon’s mayor-elect, Shari Decter Hirst, says she would like to start discussions with YMCA officials "as soon as possible" in her quest to give the Canada Games Sportsplex pool a new lease on life.

In the final months of the outgoing council’s mandate, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the city and the YMCA that outlined the terms and conditions of the operation of the Y’s new downtown aquatics facility — a facility which the city has already committed $750,000 to each year for the next several years.

However, the contract included a last-minute amendment dictating the closure of the Sportsplex pool two months after the commissioning of the Y’s new building.

A huge plank in Decter Hirst’s successful mayoral election campaign centred around re-examining the financial sustainability of the Sportsplex’s pool so that it could remain in existence in concert with the YMCA’s new facility.

Decter Hirst told the Sun yesterday that, after making sure that her council is on the same page, she is hopeful they can sit down with Y officials later this month to discuss the possibility of removing the clause involving the Sportsplex’s closure from that respective contract.

"The memorandum of understanding that they brought to council did not include the closure of the pool," she said. "What we would be doing would be basically going back to the original MOU. By giving the community time to look at options, it allows the Y to show that they are a good community partner and that they also want what’s in the best interest of Brandon.

"Right now, we have a very confrontational situation. We have to move beyond that. That’s in the best interest of the Y and the best interest of the city."

During the election campaign, former mayor Dave Burgess consistently reported that the Sportsplex pool’s annual deficit was in the range of $470,000 each year. Because of that bleeding bottom line — combined with the approximately $2 million in necessary infrastructure improvements the pool apparently needs — Burgess reasoned it would cost the city an extra $750,000 each year if it were to remain open alongside the YMCA’s facility.

Sportsplex management told the Sun this past summer that revenue from pool rentals, lessons and public swimming were expected to draw approximately $337,000 this year.

While Decter Hirst admits she hasn’t been able to drill down into the Sportsplex’s financials since her first day on the job last Friday, she’s confident there is much that can be done to lift the facility’s pool out of the red.

"I think there’s a lot of revenue opportunity yet to be discovered. We can increase that revenue line and I’ve always said we can decrease that expense line," she said. "Yes, it’s going to take capital investment … but I think we can increase the efficiencies at the Sportsplex pool by an order of magnitude."

Some of Decter Hirst’s initial ideas include increasing the pool’s user fees to fall in line with other similar jurisdictions and applying for either provincial recreational infrastructure dollars or Manitoba Hydro efficiency grants to help breathe new life into the pool.

"I think there’s opportunities. But the absolute, very first thing we need to do is get the Y to the table to begin that negotiation."

YMCA officials did not return calls seeking comment by last night’s press deadline.