Dried-up pool prospects shouldn’t end rec facility dreams: councillor

A city councillor wants the Eldon Ross pool to remain a recreational facility if it doesn’t reopen for swimming.

A request for proposal from the city to sell the pool at 1887 Pacific Ave. after it closed in September 2024 resulted in just one application, council’s property and development committee heard Thursday. It required potential buyers to keep the indoor and wading pools open at low or no cost. The sole applicant did not meet those requirements.

Point Douglas Coun. Vivian Santos put forward a motion Thursday calling on the public service to hold a feasibility study for Eldon Ross to determine if the building can be turned into an indoor recreational space, or if the pool can be decommissioned and the facility redeveloped into an outdoor amenity, like a playground and spray pad.

“I had made a commitment to the community that if there was nobody that was interested to purchase the pool and keep it remaining as a pool, I was not interested in disposing of the property, but that we would look forward to a new amenity,” she said.

That study would include assessing the state of the pool, possible operating costs, grant or sponsorship opportunities, and the needs of the surrounding community, in part through public engagement.

The motion asks the public service to report back in July 2027. Funding for the study will come from the Point Douglas land dedication reserve fund. The motion was supported unanimously by the committee; it requires council approval to move forward.

In 2024, the city estimated it would cost about $10 million to repair and maintain the Eldon Ross pool.

“I’m trying to be quite mindful of our financial constraints … our aquatic facility portfolio always has an exorbitant amount of deferred maintenance,” Santos said.

A report by the public service on the future of the pool said repeating the proposal request process wasn’t recommended and suggested the city could consider other options, including imposing fewer conditions on the sale or selling the property for a different use.

Earlier this week, committee chairperson Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) suggested a private partnership could help keep the pool afloat.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca