The entrance to the Coaldale Outdoor Pool. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Town of Coaldale turning to public to determine future of outdoor pool

Jul 19, 2019 | 11:11 AM

COALDALE, AB – Following the announcement on Thursday that Coaldale’s public pool will be closed for at least the rest of 2019, town council is trying to decide what to do going forward.

A routine inspection earlier this month found a “critical failure” involving a crack in the filtration system.

After the investigation determined that they would need to do a full rebuild of the facility to get it operational, Chief Administrative Officer Kalen Hastings says council turned down the idea of going for a “bandaid solution”.

“In a best-case scenario, we anticipate that we’d be able to open only until August 19th to the end of August, so council’s thought process was, you look at the cost relative to the fact that you may only be open for a couple of weeks for the rest of the year – and that’s only if everything goes perfectly.”

Mayor Kim Craig estimated that the quick fix would cost around $190,000-$300,000 on what is already an aging, 47-year-old pool.

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Included in Thursday’s emergency special council meeting was the discussion around consulting the public on what the next steps would be.

“Be that rebuilding or repairing the one that we have, we’re looking at a brand new facility altogether,” says Hastings. “I think, no matter how you look at it, the facility has reached the end of its life and we’re at a crossroads with how to proceed.”

The Town of Coaldale is still working on exactly what the consultations would look like, but the CAO hopes to start them sometime in the fall.

In the meantime, Hastings says it only took one phone call to the Town of Stirling to work out a tentative deal where an afternoon shuttle service would take kids on weekdays to the Stirling Swimming Pool.

“The Town of Stirling has been fantastic. They were embracing the idea of welcoming residents from Coaldale to use their pool. Palliser Schools has been fantastic in providing a bus, so we’re making the most of the situation and we want to make sure kids still get plenty of sunshine and an opportunity to swim in a pool for the rest of the summer.”

The details are still being sorted out for the bus service, but it is expected to start on Monday, July 29th.

For anyone who paid for swimming lessons, information on refunds can be found on the Town of Coaldale’s website here.