Pool closing causes confusion, sadness
Aging outdoor pool in Campbellford coming to the end of its life
Turns out that Joni Mitchell was right: You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, or almost gone.
These are the last few days of life for the outdoor swimming pool in Campbellford and some people who are just finding that out are riled, others are nostalgic, and others are just confused.
Those folks are commenting on Facebook where a post on the Campbellford group had almost 150 comments this morning.
I can help the confused folks who have been asking: Why didn’t I know about it? Why is the pool closing? When did they decide this?
It’s likely that only dedicated readers of this newsletter and website knew that the pool was officially closing. I wrote about it in mid-February when council accepted a staff recommendation that this be the last season for the pool to operate, since the indoor pool at the Sunny Life Recreation Centre is expected to open this fall.
Why did council decide to close the pool? Money. Director of Community Service Peter Burnett said he had toured the pool with engineers, and they estimated it would cost about $2 million to repair the pool so that it could operate for a few more years.
But that would do nothing to improve accessibility and the building, which has several steps to the door, doesn’t meet provincial regulations. One commenter on Facebook noted she has to take her son to a pool in Trenton.
As well, operating an outdoor pool at the same time as an indoor pool in years to come would probably double staffing costs.
Several of the commenters on Facebook pointed out that it is easy for children in town to reach the current pool, while the new facility is off on industrial land, or what was supposed to be industrial land. They suggested buses or walkways for residents.
I know the town is looking at ways to make the Sunny Life Centre more accessible for walkers or bikers, but I don’t know if they have any solutions yet. Certainly, nothing has been presented to council. Will keep you posted. And if you read these newsletters you’ll be ahead of most people on Facebook.
Town shifts Hastings centre to library board
Higher rental cost rock seniors’ group
Thanks to some excellent reporting on Facebook by Hastings resident Dennis Forbes on the Hastings Matters page we know that the municipality has decided to let the Trent Hills Library board manage all of the Hastings Civic Centre. The municipality currently has rooms in the facility that it rents and manages, while the library has its own space.
Forbes learned about this change from members of a seniors’ group that learned its annual rent would skyrocket from $1,700 to an unmanageable $32,040, because the library charges $50 per hour during the day and $80 after hours. Luckily, they have found other, cheaper space to rent.
Forbes and I both assumed this matter would have been discussed by council. But I’ve monitored every council session since last December and have no recollection of any such discussion and can find nothing in the agendas or minutes. Mayor Bob Crate said he recalls a discussion at council but thought it might have occurred in private.
So, I turned to the library board. I assumed the board would have had to approve such a change and that would be in their minute. But when I went to the website, I found that the board hasn’t posted any minutes since April 2023. Considering that according to the 2023 audit the library board spent $617,000 of taxpayers’ money this seems wrong.
So, I’ve asked to see the missing minutes. Will let you know what I learn, but I have to tell you that after reading thousands of pages of minutes, briefs, and consultants’ reports this year there is no guarantee that I will learn anything useful.
Peter Burnett, yes, the guy also responsible for the pool, says the transition from the municipality to the library board should make it easier for people to rent the rooms, since there will be someone onsite. As well, there should be some cost savings since the cleaners who now just do the library will look after the entire building.
By the way, last year the library earned $2,420 in rental fees. That should jump once the Hastings centre shifts hands.
Paramedics and health unit warn about toxic drugs
Northumberland Paramedics are echoing a recent alert from the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit warning residents about the heightened risk of overdose related to the toxicity of the unregulated drug supply, after responding to multiple suspected overdose calls in the past three weeks.
“We are seeing evidence of this toxic drug supply in our community,” says Paramedic Chief Susan Brown. “And this is not limited to one area of our community—addiction affects people across socioeconomic conditions and geographic areas.
“The drug poisoning crisis is unfortunately not new to Northumberland, but certainly when we see these notices from the health unit, it signals a significant increase in the risk of overdose and other harms. We want to further alert the community to this risk. If you are using drugs, we encourage you to not use alone, to use Naloxone if someone is overdosing, and to call 9-1-1 immediately if you think you or another individual could be overdosing.”
The HKPR District Health Unit issued an alert on August 13 due to an increase in suspected opioid drug poisonings in Northumberland County. Between August 1 and 22, Northumberland Paramedics responded to 12 calls related to suspected drug overdoses.
You can learn more about how to recognize an opioid overdose and how to respond at this county page.
In case you were wondering given the news this week, the closest safe drug use site is in Peterborough and it is not affected by the Ford government’s cuts at this point.