Luebke pitches plan for new outdoor pools

A Brandon city councillor is pitching a proposal to build up to four new outdoor aquatic facilities.

Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) presented a resolution to council on Monday so the city can avoid dealing with potential problems at the aging Kinsmen Pool.

“It’s important to try and get ahead of understanding that the Kinsmen Pool — the only outdoor pool — is kind of on its last legs, without a doubt,” Luebke said in an interview on Tuesday.

The plan would allow the city to work ahead in building new pools. It would include two to four smaller outdoor facilities, Luebke said, which would each cost between $4 million and $6 million. They would potentially include water slides, diving boards, spray features and changerooms, among other things.

“It’s been shown that other communities in our region have been able to build very nice outdoor pools in that price range,” the councillor said. “I’m loath to think that we couldn’t do the same in Brandon.”

Luebke compared the proposal to a recently opened facility in Pilot Mound, which includes two larger water slides, a diving board and spray features. That facility came in at a cost of about $3.2 million, according to a report to Brandon City Council.

“Providing recreational and cultural infrastructure and opportunities for our residents, it’s one of the things that we as council are charged to do. And I think we’ve probably been a little bit slow in getting the outdoor aquatic facility moving,” he said.

“Is the Kinsmen Pool still operating? Absolutely. But probably not in the way that it should. And even if we felt it had some more life to it, it’s probably not the standard that is current for those types of facilities,” he said.

“We need to start coming up with a plan for replacement and/or other options for outdoor pools, outdoor aquatic facilities in our community.”

The 57-year-old Kinsmen Pool opened for the season on July 23, after last-minute repairs were carried out ahead of the planned June 15 opening.

Council received Luebke’s resolution, noting it will come back so it can be included in discussions at budget time and when the city’s 10-year plan is updated.

City administration is also putting together a report, Luebke said, which will include what could work for the future of outdoor aquatics, using some of the feedback from a feasibility study in 2023. That report should come back before November.

“It is ultimately just, ‘Let’s talk about outdoor aquatics, let’s avoid a Sportsplex situation,’ and consider our options,” said Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett in the meeting, describing why council is addressing this now.

Luebke said the city is learning from how it dealt with repairs to the Sportsplex, which saw closures because parts of the building needed to be fixed.

“One thing we did learn … unfortunately from the Sportsplex is we’re much better to be proactive on these things than to be reactive, or we’re going to go years without any type of outdoor aquatic facility available in our community,” he said Tuesday.

He said getting ahead of this will also allow the city to apply for grants for the pools.

Fawcett didn’t respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

» alambert@brandonsun.com