– Final aquatic centre proposal expected in November –

(OSOYOOS TIMES — OCTOBER 17, 2007) –

By Chad IngramrnOsoyoos Times

A 25-metre, four-lane swimming pool, a leisure area and perhaps a Tarzan rope.
These would be the ideal features for an aquatic centre in Osoyoos, consultants told Council at its meeting Monday night.
At 8,900 sq. ft., the estimated cost for a such facility is $5.05 million.
An aquatic centre feasibility study conducted during the last few months included a public-input barbecue, where citizens were invited to fill out surveys, and a public open house, which presented citizens with diagrams of three possible aquatic centre designs.
As the Town's Recreational Director Gerald Davis pointed out, it also included numerous conversations with Council members, Town staff, an aquatic centre steering committee, and stakeholder groups.
The design now being recommended by the consultants is a combination of two of these earlier models.
It combines a main and leisure pool as one body of water. While this means the temperature of the pools couldn't be separately controlled, it does mean environmental and economic advantages.
By combining tanks, it allows for a smaller footprint, architect Bruce Carscadden told the meeting.
As consultant Bill Webster indicated, leisure areas typically include amenities like water slides, shallow wading pools, and moving -water features. Webster said that lazy river features are not only fun for children, but can provide practical use for seniors in the form of resistance exercise.
Both Carscadden and Webster emphasized the design was conceived with Osoyoos' large senior population in mind, which is why, instead of a diving board, the design calls for a Tarzan rope, which the two say is more accessible for everyone.
The facility would also include changing and maintenance rooms. Like earlier designs, it is shown attached to the Sonora Community Centre.
This factor raised some concern with Councillor Stu Wells.
I think it would be quite presumptuous of us to go down that road when we don't own the property that's there, Wells said.
Part of the land that would be required to build an aquatic centre at the Sonora Centre belongs to the Okanagan-Similkameen District School Board. Wells was adamant that it be brought in on the discussion.
Each facility could be a stand-alone built somewhere else, Councillor Ted Cronmiller pointed out. The plan is still the same.
Webster agreed.
There are definitely other areas in which it could be built, he said, suggesting alternative locations could include the Town land adjacent to Osoyoos Secondary School or the Sun Bowl Arena.
Webster and Carscadden say the price tag of their recommended design is right for a town the size of Osoyoos. Webster referred to instances where small communities have gone big with large, six-lane pools, only to be forced to close them.
Financial information detailing how much such a facility would cost taxpayers and what its operating costs would be will be presented to Council in the final chapter of the feasibility study at a meeting in November.
It is expected that a referendum will follow.