Pool supporters launch petition, write councillors
Pool supporters launch petition, write councillors
Fight continues to keep outdoor pool in Campbellford
Officially, the outdoor pool on Ranney St. in Campbellford is closed for good. But a group of dedicated swimmers that was dismissed last year when it asked council to keep the pool open, is not giving up its fight.
The group has launched an online petition Stop the Closure of the Campbellford Outdoor Pool that has more than 240 signatures.
As well, Elizabeth Terrell, who created the petition, has written a strongly worded email to all councillors and many town staffers with a subject line: Cease & Desist all Decommissioning of the Campbellford Outdoor Pool.
“We are very upset, we the people have been sidelined in this decision to take away our downtown outdoor pool,” Terrell wrote. “There has been no outreach directly to your tax paying residents as we didn't receive anything in our tax bill or water bill regarding these major changes.”
The email notes that many residents are upset about the closing of the Campbellford arena and the dismantling of a playground adjacent to the pool.
Terrell asks the municipality to protect the pool until there can be more study of options for retaining it.
“Pause, Reflect, Research, Work with Community, Tarp the pool for a year or two if we have to, until we can find a way forward that actually shows the real cost to repair / refurbish our outdoor pool. We cannot find any real quote or tender for the real costs to repair the outdoor pool and we do not believe that this even exists.”
During the council meeting in February when it was decided that this would be a last summer for the pool, Director of Community Services Peter Burnett said he had toured the pool with engineers who estimated it would cost $1.5 million to $2 million to refurbish the pool so that it could operate for a few more years.
With an indoor pool expected to open this fall at the Sunny Life Recreation Centre, council agreed that this would be the last season for the outdoor pool.
Terrell’s email notes that the petition is “deliberately political” because many residents feel they were not given a chance to comment on the plan.
“It is apparent that our voices, concerns, and suggestions about our community assets have been sidelined, creating a democratic deficit,” the petition says.
“If the current councillors can’t find the funds in the budget, then let the pool sit empty until full disclosure has been done with a survey and referendum. Let the outdoor pool be a municipal election item on the ballot (in 2026).”
The petition concludes by noting that the next council meeting will be Sept. 10.
Hospital’s COVID outbreak declared over
Last Friday the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit said the COVID-19 outbreak that started Aug. 12 in the inpatient unit at Campbellford Memorial Hospital was officially over. The hospital said it was lifting all restrictions on visitors.
But COVID-19 is not going away. On Monday, the health unit declared an outbreak at the Applefest Lodge Retirement Home in Brighton and today it declared an outbreak in the restorative care unit of the Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg.
A website that tracks official outbreaks announced by health units in Ontario said that two weeks ago the province had twice as many outbreaks as the same time last year.
There should be more information coming to the ratepayers through Facebook and through Art Chamberlain. The administration has spent dollars on their internet system I am not interested in watching there council meetings. It would be like watching grass grow. The council meetings should be rotated between the three urban centres. The 2025 budget is coming up. The ratepayers need to be informed as to what they are recommending to the council. Here on Trent Island we have a water, sewer and road problem. The Mayor said it is a priority and I have been advised it will be done if money is available. More communication is needed between the administration, council and the ratepayers. What happens now with the old arena that’s sits on the fairboard property. Any one knows.