Sometimes, the wheels of municipal government grind slowly. Planning for a project can be preceded by months, even years, of feasibility studies, public consultations, requests for ideas and thorough analysis of all the information gathered.
In the case of replacing or renovating the Crystal Pool, that would be perfectly fine. The City of Victoria already has plenty on its plate; council and administration would be wise to go carefully on this project.
That does not mean the pool should be ignored. As Mayor Lisa Helps pointed out last week, doing nothing is not an option.
鈥淒oing nothing would basically say that we close down the facility,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 45 years old. It鈥檚 time to put some significant capital into it to refurbish it or knock it down and build a new one.鈥�
When the Crystal Pool opened in 1971, the facility boasted the only 50-metre competition pool in Greater Victoria. But it鈥檚 showing its age, and the city has been examining options for the pool for the past 15 years.
City staff estimate that renovating the pool would cost $40 million, renovating and expanding would be about $56 million, and building a new facility would be about $68 million. Regardless of the option chosen, the recommendation is that $10 million should come from the city鈥檚 buildings and infrastructure reserve fund and the balance be borrowed, which would require a referendum. It would mean a tax increase of 1.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent, depending on which option is chosen.
Refurbish or replace? Helps says there are compelling arguments for both courses of action, and she鈥檚 not yet sure which way she is leaning.
That鈥檚 OK. It鈥檚 not an issue that can be postponed forever, but she and the council can take their time and move carefully. We don鈥檛 need another financial fiasco like the Johnson Street Bridge.
When the city council of 2009 approved replacing the bridge, the estimated cost was $63 million, eerily close to the estimate for building a new Crystal Pool. The cost of the new bridge is now expected to exceed $105 million.
Decisions will have to be made on the Crystal Pool. You can鈥檛 drive that old beater forever 鈥� at some point, you have to replace it.
But if there鈥檚 a lesson to be learned from the Johnson Street Bridge, it鈥檚 that you don鈥檛 have to replace the old beater with a luxury limousine. Be wary of words such as 鈥渨orld-class鈥� and 鈥渋conic.鈥�
With trails, bike lanes, social housing, Victoria鈥檚 share of the sewage project and other big-ticket items, there isn鈥檛 a lot of budget room for a new pool that makes a statement.
