Pool rescue plan to cost $4.9m

Municipal Pool supporters have unveiled a $4.9 million rescue plan for the century-old inner-city complex, and want ratepayers to keep it afloat while they find the money.

The ambitious plan, put in front of Hamilton City councillors hearing 10-year budget submissions yesterday, would see a charitable trust take over and fund half of its running costs.

The council originally intended to close the pools at the end of March, but agreed to keep them open until the end of June after a public outcry.

Councillors viewed the complex – which staff said needed $1.4m to keep operating – as a budgetary black hole.

Swimming Waikato chairman Simon Perry and Sport Waikato chief executive Matthew Cooper said the trust would undertake a regional review of pools and work up a business case to prove whether a redeveloped complex was financially sustainable.

Hamilton now has 6067 residents per swimming lane but, without the Municipal, that number would rise to 8089, well above the national average of 6246, they argued.

Councillors have already signalled a new Rototuna pool was unaffordable, and closing the central city pool as well would rob Hamilton of 14 swimming lanes, the pair said.

The redevelopment – split between $3m to get the complex up to scratch and another $1.9m adding facilities such as a cafe – would happen only if sustainable sponsorship could be found and new revenue streams identified.

The new charitable entity – provisionally named the Municipal Pool Trust – would pay a peppercorn rental and work to better market the complex to attract more users. Its business case said the council had undersold the complex in terms of marketing and opening hours, and addressing those issues could turn it around.

In return, the suggested trust wanted city councillors to commit to $40,000 of overdue work to improve water quality, and $390,000 over three years towards running costs.

City schools also made clear their support for the pool complex, with Hamilton West year 7 and 8 students speaking fervently in favour of council keeping the pools open.

Tom Fitisemanu told councillors that after Easter, ‘‘as a nation, we all gave ourselves a pat on the back . . . because there were no road fatalities, but four people drowned’’.

‘‘We live in a country where we are surrounded by water, but less than 20 per cent of all New Zealand students are able to swim,’’ he said.

St Columba’s Liam Haughey said students and parents enjoyed swimming at the pools, and closing them would mean the loss of a big part of history.