Dear Editor:
The Mount Forest pool is a sore spot for many. The inability for children and seniors to access this valuable form of physical activity and communal socialization has become a detriment to their overall wellbeing.
The state of our economy has changed for the worse since this pool discussion had commenced. In such a dynamic environment, we need to highlight our ability, as leaders, to shift and pivot as the situation warrants. Although I commend Mayor Andy Lennox for opening up the floor at the July 22 council meeting, this amounted to little more than virtue signalling.
Following this action you called for decommissioning the pool within three weeks versus the original 45 days. This decision shows you were not listening and did not have an open mind.
On June 17, 2022 your office received correspondence from the township’s then-operations director Matthew Aston. He suggested the pool should not open that year as this council had not yet approved the liner repair.
“Based on visual observation, there were no significant problems with the structural integrity of the south wall. There were no cracks, differential settlement, spalling or any other significant form of concrete delamination or degradation observed,” the memo stated.
“If council recommends repairing the Mount Forest pool, the township’s ability to adequately staff both Arthur and Mount Forest pools simultaneously is not safely achievable,” the memo continued.
“If the Mount Forest Pool were to be fixed this summer with the intention of it being opened, that would mean that the Arthur Pool would have to close.”
The existing pool is reparable for an estimated cost of $200,000, the document states; however, this council’s failure to act meant the completion date was uncertain and the township’s inability to staff the pool meant a dry summer Mount Forest.
This is consistent with a June 20, 2022 Wellington Advertiser article in which Mayor Andy Lennox is quoted as saying, “If we’re not prepared to fix it now, why would we change our mind?”
We should have been prepared to fix it then, and we should be prepared to fix it now! This council’s inability to act, staff, or make a decisions should not be at the detriment to the children and families of our community.
It is not too late to do the right thing.
Citizens cannot afford increased taxes (which your team already implemented) for an unnecessary project.
If the new pool project was estimated at $5.3 million, with inflation it’s fair to assume that has increased. And how many more dry summers do we face before this project is completed?
Over 20 companies expressed interest, but only two proposals were provided to me when I asked.
Where does this gap come from? Why would council not say “Two is not a large enough sample for consideration, what can we do to solicit more interest in this project?”
How will we achieve $2.5 million in donations without harming other worthy causes? How will we staff this facility when we could not staff the existing pool and are currently struggling to staff the Arthur pool?
Why does the Arthur pool have such limited hours on evenings and weekends?
I hope council reconsiders their position. It is a strength, not a weakness, to acknowledge an ever-changing environment and take a new course of action when prescribed.
I humbly request council solicit updated estimates of repair for the existing pool prior to its decommission and offer to assist them in doing so.
Michelle McInnis
Mount Forest