Pool’s out for summer during renos

The Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre may undergo $3.25 million in renovations in 2021 that would close the pool for next summer.

But city council will have to decide first whether it’s affordable, even if a grant is available.

At a general committee meeting on Tuesday night, council will consider directing staff to apply for a bit more than $1 million from the federal and provincial governments in COVID stimulus funding.

If the city applied for that grant and received it, that would leave the city to pay $2.2 million — some of which has already been set aside for the eventual repairs. Still, the city would still need to find about $1.9 million — which the staff report recommends could be pre-committed in the city ’s 2022 budget.

The renovations involve:

› Replacing the pool’s aging HVAC system.

› Combining the three change rooms off the pool area into one large, universal change room.

› Reconfiguring the office, boardroom and café.

› Relocating the city office space.

› Rebuilding a new front desk area for better COVID-19 safety and better accessibility.

But the project would take four to six months to complete. The staff report recommends closing the pool and change rooms from April until September or October.

The Fleming College change rooms on the gymnasium side of the Brealey Drive facility would be available in the meantime, the report points out, and the summer aquatic schedule isn’t as busy as winter so fewer people would be inconvenienced.

However the summer day camp would have to move to the Navy Club on Whitla Street, which the city has planned to have purchased by then.

The pool’s HVAC system is 15 years old and ought to be replaced before it breaks down, the report states.

The Wellness Centre is in its 15th year of operation.