Renfrew’s 50-year old pool debate resurfaces with cash donation

A surprise donation of $330,000 from the estate of the late Jan Wilson, who spent several years advocating for a pool in Renfrew, has rejuvenated the calls for a new aquatic centre in a town that has wrestled with the pros and cons of operating an indoor pool for close to 50 years.

The surprise announcement certainly came as welcome news for members of the Ma-te-Way Aquatic Centre Development Project (MACD), a group that was created out of the former pro-pool committee that was active since 2013 until it morphed into the MACD.

Ms. Wilson, who passed away in April 2020, was a lifelong educator who spent much of her career at Renfrew Collegiate Institute (RCI) as both a teacher and vice-principal, whose estate revealed the $330,000 donation, final wishes included that the money be earmarked exclusively for some type of aquatic centre in the town of 8,100 residents.

Although Wilson passed away, the dream of a pool located at the town’s Ma-te-Way Activity Centre is not going away and in fact, one of the candidates in this year’s election for a council seat, revived the concept of a pool at a recent all-candidates meeting.

Guy Longtin, one of eight candidates for office, said building a pool is one of the key planks of his election platform and if elected, one he plans to champion within the new council.

“Now is the time to build a pool if for no other reason, we are racing the clock in terms of costs,” he said. “Prices are going up and we now have a second ice pad in a soon to be completed Ma-te-Way Activity Centre expansion and it is only natural that we build some type of aquatic centre before we can’t afford to.”

Longtin and current MACD president Leo Hall and others have long argued that past surveys within and among neighbouring municipalities that a pool is always a popular option for residents in terms of recreational activities.

The MACD conducted a survey a few years ago for residents in neighbouring municipalities with swimming pools, with the results saying between 20 to 50 per cent of taxpayers use those facilities and the cost to maintain the operational costs is under $500,000 annually, based on what type of pool is built. The MACD has long argued the newer and sophisticated technology in pool maintenance has lowered the annual cost, and innovations such as a salt water pool is not only cheaper to maintain, it may have a larger life span.

Longtin argues that if the issue of whether or not to build a pool bogs down the incoming council, it will never be built.

“We need to act quickly to pursue partnerships with the federal and provincial governments to help offset the costs because is we delay by two or three years, the costs could easily double or triple what it costs today,” he said. “We saw how the costs for the current Ma-te-Way Activity Centre expansion skyrocketed and that may very well be the case moving forward.”

In addition to the recent donation of $330,000, another donation of $170,000 from the Ruth Burwell Fund that was established in the 1960s allows for seed money in excess of $500,000 and that is in addition to ongoing fund raising activities.

“Not only is there the immediate benefits of a pool in terms of recreation and therapeutic advantages for an aging population, but a community pool is a major incentive for young families and people of all ages to choose Renfrew as a place to live.”

It seems that no matter the outcome of the upcoming election, the debate is not going away any time soon.