$2m needed for Cambridge pool
A dip in an indoor, heated pool might be the go-to option for many families during the cold winter weather.
But for Cambridge people, the luxury of having the same option is still about $1.6m away.
That’s the amount of money the Waipa District Council needs to fundraise to build the proposed 25m, 10-lane, heated indoor swimming pool in the town.
The council has a $400,000 grant from Trust Waikato locked in, to go towards the $2m fundraising component of the $9.8m cost of the facility, which it hoped to build in 2018.
Recently the council approved a recommendation which would allow it to begin approaching other funding organisations.
It included the Grassroots Trust Limited, Lion Foundation, Trillian Trust, Pub Charity, The Southern Trust, NZ Community Trust, Four Winds Foundation and the Infinity Foundation.
Cambridge ward councillor Liz Stolwyk said funding applications would begin immediately but the council was at the mercy of each organisation’s deadline and criteria.
‘‘So there is a big portion of fundraising that needs to be achieved but we are confident that we’re going to be able to fundraise to build a 10-lane, 25m pool for Cambridge.
‘‘We could go back to the eightlane option but we believe with the population growth of Cambridge, the 10-lane pool is the right option.’’
Stolwyk said Cambridge people still had the option of using the indoor pool at St Peter’s School but it was not always available to the public.
The Te Awamutu indoor pool, a 15-minute drive away, was also another option.
‘‘I take my kids to the Te Awamutu pool often but it’s very busy and hard to get a lane to swim in. We’re arguing amongst ourselves to get a lane, let alone with other people there.’’
Waipa Mayor Jim Mylchreest, a former pool fundraiser, said there had been public pressure on the council ‘‘long before my time as mayor’’ to build a public indoor heated pool.
‘‘The council has been trying to get this underway for decades but now it seems to have got to the point where the community has come onboard to retain the [existing] 50m pool, which was a sticking point previously.
‘‘The feel around the community is that this has gone on for long enough and it’s time to get on with it and do it, that message is coming through loud and clear. We’ll get a covered pool there and it will provide more options and additional water space for the extra activities that have been identified for the pool.’’