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New aquatic centre will create a splash in Vanderhoof

Centre on track for October opening
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Project Coordinator, Zoe Dhillon can almost hear the sound of children’s laughter as she surveys Vanderhoof’s new aquatic centre. The centre is under construction and expected to open in October of 2018.

Residents of Vanderhoof will be able to escape the cold and splash their way through next winter once the Vanderhoof Aquatic Centre opens its doors to the public.

The facility is currently under construction, but inside the building shell, the outline of the two pool tanks are clearly visible and, with a little imagination, one can almost hear the laughter of children as they dive into the crystal clear water.

At least that’s the way that Zoe Dhillon, the Special Projects Co-ordinator for the District of Vanderhoof imagines it.

“This is going to be a fantastic facility and a very important addition to the community,” said Dhillon.

“The nearest swimming pool is in Prince George right now and every winter you see parents driving through winter road conditions – an hour each way –so their children can take swimming lessons. This will have been the last winter where that’s necessary.”

But it’s also been a long road to get to this point.

Thirty years ago, when the District of Vanderhoof launched a referendum to gain approval to borrow money to construct a swimming pool in the community, the proposal didn’t pass, with fears of increased taxes to fund the facility carrying the day.

But the dream of having an aquatic facility did not die, and when it again went to referendum in early 2013, an overwhelming number of people turned out and voted for the initiative that allowed the borrowing of $4 million to help fund the project.

In addition to the Vanderhoof vote, ballots were also cast in the rural area surrounding the community (Area F of the Regional District of Buckley-Nechako).

“That’s where the controversy really continued because there was some opposition from the community of Cluculz Lake. A lot of the properties there are cottages owned by people living in Prince George where they already have a pool,” explained Dhillon.

“But even there, the referendum passed.”

The Vanderhoof Aquatic Centre will feature a 1,500 square foot leisure pool with a lazy river, spray features, a Tarzan rope and a climbing wall to keep children and adults alike entertained. Just beyond the Leisure pool, the outline of the 30-person hot tub is visible on the roughed-in pool deck.

The main pool tank, according to Dhillon, will be a six lane lap swimming pool, perfect for swimming, aquacise classes, swimming lessons and more.

“We looked at diving boards, but that would require greater pool depth and with our water table, it would have meant a significant increase in cost, and it really hadn’t been identified as a priority,” said Dhillon.

“We also explored the idea of a fitness facility, but we already have a great fitness facility in town and it didn’t make sense to duplicate that service and at the same time incur a greater construction cost.”

The final price tag for the facility is in the neighbourhood of $12 million, with half of that amount being provided through federal, provincial, and municipal funds administered through the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM). There will also be an allocation from the gas tax levy in Vanderhoof and the community fund raising efforts have provided another $600,000 to the project.

And although the District of Vanderhoof was granted the approval to borrow an additional $4 million, funding from these sources and a number of smaller local donations from corporate interests have combined to reduce that borrowing to $3 million, which means that the feared tax increases to fund the project have also been reduced.

A final consideration currently under review by the District involved the actual operation of the facility.

“We are exploring a number of options to have a third party like the YMCA take over the actual operation of the facility so the District isn’t having to take on that role. They have a great deal of experience in pool operations and programming, and it may be a good fit,” said Dhillon.

No operational agreement has been reached with any third party at this time, but discussions are on-going.

“You still hear some people with concerns about whether Vanderhoof can afford this pool, but the reality is that we can’t afford not to provide these kinds of amenities,” said Dhillon.

“We want to have a community where families can stay and raise their children, and not have to consider moving to get the services they want.”