Drysdale pool to stay open

People power has won the day with Geelong council voting to keep open the North Bellarine Aquatic Centre in Drysdale at a cost to ratepayers of well more than $1500 a day.

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of an “urgent business item” put forward by Mayor Trent Sullivan, whose Bellarine ward takes in the facility that opened only in November, at their monthly meeting on Tuesday night.

Mr Sullivan’s move followed a petition to keep the 50m heated outdoor pool open that had gathered about 2800 signatures.

In the weeks leading up to its opening, council flagged that it would close the facility from April to October because of the squeeze on its finances.

Council has now guaranteed the facility will remain open until at least the end of May, with a report to be brought back to council that identifies opportunities to enable the facility to remain open all year.

The extension to May will mean that City Hall will reallocate $96,000 from its 2023-2024 operating budget to cover staff wages and fixed costs, such as utilities, equating to $1574 a day.

Since opening, the facility has averaged a touch over 1500 visitors per week.

“To have a facility open in November last year, and to possibly close in its honeymoon year, is unfathomable by many,” Mr Sullivan said at the meeting.

Fellow Bellarine ward councillor Jim Mason said the City of Greater Geelong was under severe financial pressure, so it would need to find creative ways of managing the extended opening because of the “extremely high costs”.

“I support the motion, but I know we will have some difficult decisions in the future,” Mr Mason said.

Eddy Kontelj said that all council-run pools should be open year round.

“It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “I think we should continue to work really hard to try and have all of the pools within Geelong opened every day of the year.”

Regular pool user Louise Skeen organised the petition and said council’s about-face was a “fantastic outcome”.

“We just need to keep on the ball with the council and hopefully they will continue to update us where we are at, but they have certainly promised to keep it open year-round and keep it a priority in their budget,” she said.

The federal government provided $10m funding for the pool, while City Hall contributed $5.5m.

The federal and state governments have each committed $20m to a second-stage expansion that would feature a range of indoor facilities, including pools, a gym and spa, but construction appears a long way off.

Corangamite MP Libby Coker said the decision to keep it open was a “good result” for the community.

“I’m pleased the council has responded to our communities on the North Bellarine and listened to my call to keep the outdoor pool open longer,” she said.

Her predecessor Sarah Henderson, who secured the federal funding during her 2019 election battle with Ms Coker, said “people power matters”.