New Boissevain pool breaking ground this summer

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This article was published 09/06/2022 (1313 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Swimmers in Boissevain will soon have a new pool to dip their toes in, practice their breaststroke and cool down on a hot summer day.

The Municipality of Boissevain Morton is tentatively planning to break ground on a new pool to replace the current aging facility this summer.

The current swimming pool is in its final year of operation and a new one is needed, said director of parks and recreation Samantha Dyck.

“The pool is a huge part of our community, it’s definitely one of the busy places for us in the summer,” she said.

The current pool is approximately 50 years old and isn’t accessible for seniors, so programming options are limited there, she said.

The municipality is still finalizing the details of the new aquatics centre, but is planned to include a pool with a slanted entry, a lazy river, water slides and a pool for lap swimming, she said. Preliminary drawings also show a pool for younger children.

The new pool will be “huge” for recreation options for both young and old, Dyck said. It is planned to have the capacity for approximately 250 people.

“It definitely allows us to look into providing more programming for the community, maybe some more accommodations for programming for seniors,” she said.

The hope is the new pool will also attract tourists to the community to boost Boissevain businesses.

The municipality received a $300,000 grant from the provincial government’s Building Sustainable Communities Fund toward the cost of the new pool. Head of council Judy Swanson said the municipality was “delighted” to receive the cash.

“It really helps small communities in any projects like were doing right now,” she said.

With the contribution from the provincial government the municipality won’t have to borrow money to pay for the cost of building the facility, according to Swanson.

The current pool is planned to close a few weeks early this fall and open a few weeks later in the spring of 2023 so the community doesn’t lose a complete swimming season, she said.

“It’s going to be really, really a special place for our community… I’m excited about it,” she said.

The new aquatic centre will help increase tourism and hopefully attract young families to Boissevain and the Turtle Mountain region, Swanson said. It’s just one of several recreation rehabs in the works in the Westman town.

The municipality is also fundraising for a new arena and campground renovations, which are also old. Last year Swanson said the community was getting a building and fundraising community set up.

The community did a recreation review earlier in 2019 and determined there was need to upgrade some of the facilities, including the pool, campground, outdoor rink and more baseball and soccer pitches, Swanson said.

“We have a great way of life in the rural and people need to know that,” she said.

“And if you have young kids in particular you’re going to be looking at recreation. We’re very excited to be moving it forward and I think it will be a huge asset to our community

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