Area residents are showing their support for planned upgrades to the Flin Flon Aqua Centre.
About 40 people attended an informational meeting last week to discuss the findings of a feasibility study on the future of the facility.
Mike Dubreuil, recreation manager for the City of Flin Flon, says he was pleased with the “healthy questions” posed and “good ideas” shared on how to move forward.
“It’s not a process [that happens] overnight,” he said. “It takes, on average, five years, and it’s important that we start working on it now.”
The meeting, held last Tuesday, March 24, brought out primarily Flin Flonners, but other contingencies represented Creighton, Denare Beach, cottage country and Cranberry Portage.
Input
Dubreuil hopes to see the support and input from surrounding communities continue.
“People come from about 150 kilometres away to use this facility,” he said. “We would really like to have some input – what is valuable for them and what will have them come here and use it.”
Added Dubreuil: “It’s not just a Flin Flon thing. We want that inclusivity in that process from Creighton, Denare Beach and the lakes.”
Held at city hall, the meeting was initially intended to form a committee to select the best of six options to upgrade the Aqua Centre.
Delayed
Dubreuil says the selection process was postponed to a later date.
“The meeting was laid out more primarily as an information session and so everyone can understand what we’re doing and where we have to go from here,” he said. “We wanted to wait before assigning official positions [and have] more inclusion from communities. We want people to include themselves in this…because it’s important to them, not because they are pressured.”
Sara Lawrence, a former lifeguard at the Aqua Centre, is on board with upgrading the facility.
In 2012 Lawrence approached city council with her concerns about the long-term future of the building and what would happen if it shut down.
“A pool is an important part of safety for [our] community…and the outlying communities,” she said last week. “It should be a priority.”
More than a dozen outlying areas utilize the Aqua Centre for swimming lessons and recreational swimming.
When Lawrence brought her concerns to council’s attention three years ago, she said the legwork had not been done for potential upgrades.
“But [now] a pretty picture has been painted,” she said, excited that others now share her enthusiasm for an upgraded facility. “It’s easier to visualize now.”
Over the years, Amanda Link-Labarre has had many roles at the Aqua Centre as she started with her own swimming lessons as a child, and then became a synchronized swimmer and later a coach and lifeguard.
Now a mother herself, Link-Labarre attended last week’s meeting with hopes for continued opportunities at the Aqua Centre.
“I want the opportunity for [my daughter] to be in love with aquatics like I am,” she said. “I want the opportunity for [pool] aquatics within our region, not just lake aquatics.”
Plans
The future plans for the Aqua Centre will rest in the hands of the soon-to-be formed committee.
A follow-up meeting to last week’s information session has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 15, at which time the committee is to be selected.
An external feasibility study recently recommended that the Aqua Centre undergo $7.7 million in upgrades. That is option 4 of six options contained in the study, but the recommendation is not binding.
Option 4 would mean additional classroom space, a larger weight room, a therapeutic pool and a larger pool deck.
Following the upcoming meeting, the committee will meet again in May or June to discuss the start of fundraising and other concerns.
The April 15 meeting will be held at the city hall council chambers at 7:30 pm.
Dubreuil encourages all area residents to attend, regardless of whether they attended the first meeting.
