Hub Staff
A timeline and two possible locations for a new aquatic centre in Port Elgin (the Plex and Cameron Park) were discussed during the March 27 Saugeen Shores Committee of the Whole meeting and through a notice of motion by Councillors Don Matheson and John Rich during the regular Council Meeting.
Drawings for the centre showed a 2,250 square metre design on the west side of the Plex (attached to the arena, beside Shoppers Drug Mart) had been created by architecture firm Perkins+Will. Director of Community Services Jayne Jagelweski said that the drawings include town requests such as: two tank design, recreation slide with splash down pool, universal change rooms, walking track, easy flow for patrons between the Plex and the pool, office space, viewing area, streetscape design and sufficient deck space.
In 2010 consulting firm Monteith Brown reported that the proposed pool would be ideally situated on the east side of the building, between the back of the arena and green space.
According to the report presented to council March 27, Perkins+Will said the west side of the Plex will be more conducive for the following reasons:
- this design would allow for a combined streetscape, assisting with inside traffic flow for all recreation areas, as well it creates a courtyard/drop off area, helping to unify the two buildings into a “true community centre”
- this design would allow for two drop off areas, allowing for better flow of traffic inside and outside. In addition to the drop off area out front, an athlete drop off area would exist in the back
- the aquatic facility on the west side of the building will showcase the new facility as a recreational hub
- provides for future expansion on the east side
- pess disruptive to operations occurring in the municipal office during construction and during future operating hours
Later in the evening a vote was carried through a notice of motion by Councillor Matheson, seconded by Councillor Rich for town staff to consider Cameron Park as another choice for the pool. The Cameron Park location, abutting the current pool location, would allow Saugeen District Secondary School (SDSS) students to continue using the facility during school hours as well as keep parking spaces that would be diminished by the erection of aquatic centre on the west side of the Plex.
Matheson said Council has to look at all the options as he felt that user groups weren't considered in the planning, he then focused on a big user group, SDSS students. “If we move the pool from the present high school location, or close to it, you're going to lose all the kids that take the swimming program from the high school because they can’t get down here [to the Plex] in time for their classes to get back.”
The councillor brought up alternate, cost effective construction methods, besides the standard “brick and mortar” buildings, and the reconfiguring of current baseball diamonds, which would need to be addressed if the aquatic centre was located at Cameron Park as the park is currently home to two baseball diamonds.
Matheson said the Recreation Master Plan recommends joining all baseball diamonds together. “If we do go up there [to Cameron Park] then maybe we can get two birds with one stone, get our pool and rec facility and maybe our ball diamonds fixed up at the same time.”
He went on to say that if the aquatic centre was placed on the west side of the Plex there would be a loss of parking, and that’s the number one unfavourable result. “If you've happened to attend any of the last Saugeen Shores Winterhawk games, if you take out all that parking there’s nowhere for anyone to go.”
The next steps for the proposed aquatic centre will be a on preliminary cost in May, with Request for Proposals beginning in mid-June, followed by community feedback and information sessions May-September. Staff will then ask councillors to approve an Aquatic Centre Ad Hoc Committee in the fall.
Proposed design concepts for an Aquatic Centre located on the west side of the Plex.
