Vernon, B.C.’s current aquatic centre is aging, over capacity: city

Built-in the 1960s, and extensively renovated in the 1990s, the city says the current pool facilities are becoming more expensive and time-consuming to maintain.

Vernon, B.C. voters will soon get to decide if they want to borrow up to $121 million for a new recreation facility called the Active Living Centre and pay the expected tax increases.

So on Tuesday, the city gave reporters a tour of the community’s current aquatic centre highlighting the ways the municipality sees the existing facility falling short.

Built-in the 1960s, and extensively renovated in the 1990s, the city says the current pool facilities are becoming more expensive and time-consuming to maintain.

“We have infrastructure in there from every decade. We are trying to keep things upgraded and as modern as possible, but when you are renovating constantly you do run into challenges,” said Vernon’s director of recreation services Doug Ross.

“I can tell you that probably in the last two years we’ve invested over a million dollars in the facility to keep it up.”

One example of the challenges the city sees with the aging infrastructure is the waterslide. Vernon council had budgeted $96,000 to fix it up, but engineers found it would need more extensive repairs leaving it closed indefinitely.

“There is a tarp that is draped underneath it and that is so no debris falls down onto the pool deck or into the pool,” Ross explained.

Ross said compromises were made so the current aquatic centre would fit on the existing site, meaning nearly 30 years later, it simply isn’t big enough.