KENILWORTH – Wellington North staff are looking into how much decommissioning the Lion Roy Grant pool and rehabilitating the property will cost the township.
Direction given to staff follows a March 14 recommendation from a recreation, parks and leisure committee meeting to move ahead with decommissioning and rehabilitating the entire property, including the pool itself and a building.
At an April 17 council meeting, when councillors approved the direction, councillor Steve McCabe said it’s a “step in the right direction.”
McCabe spoke of taking swimming lessons at the pool during his childhood, and said it would be sad to see the landmark go.
“I guess it’s more cathartic than anything,” he said.
Councillor Sherry Burke agreed, saying it seems like the “end of an era.”
Named after one of the original Mount Forest Lions Club’s charter members, the Lion Roy Grant pool opened in 1948, and became a go-to spot for families and seniors alike in the summer months.
In recent years, the pool has been closed due to disrepair.
In May 2022, council voted not to explore repair costs and to focus instead on building a new pool at the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex.
Burke, who also chairs the Mount Forest aquatics advisory committee, said the community “will have a new facility that the Lions Club will contribute [to].”
