Last weekend marked one of many fundraisers for Flin Flon’s Aqua Centre as a local committee works towards a renovation of the popular facility.
On Saturday night, May 28, the Aqua Centre Community Committee hosted Suds and Spuds, a steak-and-potato dinner at the Victoria Inn.
Committee treasurer Cory Thompson said 61 tickets were sold and a total of $965 was raised from the event.
With ongoing meat draws and tag days, and events like Suds and Spuds, the committee’s volunteers are hoping to build a base of funds needed to move towards a major renovation of the Aqua Centre.
The estimated cost of the project is close to $7.7 million, according to a feasibility study completed in 2015 by BridgmanCollaborative Architecture, a Winnipeg-based firm. The firm was hired by the City of Flin Flon to explore several options for keeping the Aqua Centre up-to-date. The options brought forward ranged from safety-only upgrades at a cost of $140,000 to the most costly new build at $16 million.
In the report, BridgmanCollaborative noted that the existing facility is 40 years old, and there is an ongoing concern around water loss from the pool basin. The building is also not meeting some fire code regulations and there are also issues, such as water ponding on the pool deck, that are not permissible under regulations for swimming pools.
Barrier-free access is also an issue. The firm recommended the city choose Option 4, which would see safety and structural updates and an envelope retrofit, along with accessibility and usability improvements, as well as increased program space and pool deck upgrades.
Highlights of the design include a second “therapeutic” pool that would be accessible to those with mobility restrictions, a family change area, and multipurpose classrooms. According to the report, some of these spaces would present additional revenue potential for the city.
After community consultations and meetings with Flin Flon city council, the committee chose to aim for the firm’s Option 4, with its $7.7-million price tag.
About one year later, close to $72,000 had been raised locally before Saturday’s event, Thompson said.
The bulk of the funds have come from two major donations from the Flin Flon Lions Club and the Rotary Club of Flin Flon, and a donation from Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 73.
The committee is hoping to rouse more interest from locals in generating funds, in addition to applying for various provincial and federal grants.
”We need volunteers, and we need to find as many sources of revenue as we can to make this go,” said Thompson.
“Seven and a half million is not going to be raised by making $2,000 once a month. We need people to step up.”
“We need lots of community support, not just from Flin Flon, but also from Creighton, Denare Beach, Channing, Cranberry Portage, and Snow Lake,” said Tricia Tetlock, president of the Aqua Centre Community Committee.
“It’s a regional pool, so we’re hoping for support from everybody.”
