Residents, councillors unhappy with pool closures in proposed city budget By: Joyanne Pursaga Posted: 3:41 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 Last Modified: 5:50 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 Updates

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A plan to shut down city pools is triggering waves of shock among area residents who fear it will eliminate well-loved amenities.

The 2024-2027 preliminary city budget proposes to close the Happyland outdoor, Windsor Park outdoor and Eldon Ross indoor pools this year, while also decommissioning or replacing 20 wading pools, deeming them too expensive to maintain and staff. City officials say a $20-million program is slated to provide 10 new spray pads (along with five previously announced) in the next six years, providing alternative recreation facilities.

News of the plan to shutter the Windsor Park outdoor pool left Amber Gauthier’s 10-year-old daughter in tears on Wednesday.

“She was crying. She said, ‘Splash pads are for little kids, I’m 10. That’s not fun for me,’” Gauthier said.

“Splash pads are amazing but kids age out of that. It’s not entertaining. Adults don’t want a splash pad, teenagers don’t want a splash pad, but a pool serves everyone.”

While she agrees the area also needs a splash pad, which the plan includes, she argues it shouldn’t come at the expense of the pool.

Her husband and daughter went to the pool almost every night in the summer, at times waiting in line. Gauthier, who serves as president of the Windsor Park Residents Association, said the association changed its agenda for a Thursday-night meeting to focus on ways to stop the closure.

“I’ve been fielding calls and messages all morning from community members that are very unhappy about this,” she said.

The loss of the popular pool would leave many teenagers in the area with few ways to escape the summer heat, Gauthier said.

“Windsor Park isn’t exactly an affluent area where everyone’s got air conditioning and all the luxuries. I think taking this away is taking away healthy habits, taking away family time,” she said, noting free admission makes the pool accessible.

“Splash pads are amazing but kids age out of that. It’s not entertaining. Adults don’t want a splash pad, teenagers don’t want a splash pad, but a pool serves everyone.”–Amber Gauthier

A principal whose school playground is right next to Eldon Ross Pool said shuttering the Pacific Avenue facility would also remove an integral part of community life.

“It’s safe and family friendly and there are very few other after-school or recreation opportunities in this area. There are no community clubs,” said Samantha Amaral, principal of Brooklands School.

The pool is within walking distance for many kids and families, while the school relies on it for a Grade 3 swimming program, Amaral said.

“It’s well loved and it’s a much-needed recreational facility here. And we have a large newcomer population, so the ability to have access to a pool where they can learn to swim is huge,” she said.

Coun. Evan Duncan, the head of council’s community services committee, said the pools slated to close were built decades ago and now suffer from dropping attendance and high maintenance costs.

“Do we continue to invest in aging infrastructure or do we look at how we can use taxpayer dollars to bring new infrastructure online?” said Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).

The budget also calls for a four-year review of the Kinsmen Sherbrook Pool to assess its use and costs. But Duncan stressed no decision has been made to close it, even though its annual operating cost is projected to reach $1 million in 2027.

The budget proposes 10 new spray pads in Winakwa (near the existing Windsor Park Pool), Tyndall Park, South Winnipeg, Chalmers, Bruce Park, Beryl Watts, Norberry/Glenlee, Keenleyside Park, Tuxedo and Riverview.

Coun. Jeff Browaty, council’s finance chairman, said the cost to run and maintain aging pools is the key concern, while splash pads are more affordable. For example, the Windsor Park Pool was built in 1961, cost $121,000 to operate in 2022 and would cost about $4 million to repair, based on early estimates, he said.

“The real cost is the fact that the condition of these pools is really bad. The Windsor Park pool, the overall facility is considered to be in poor condition,” said Browaty, noting that some components are nearing the end of their useful life.

The North Kildonan councillor said it’s tough to make that financial reality fit within a tight city budget, especially for outdoor pools that have a limited season.

“With a finite number of recreation dollars, I really struggle (to justify that as) the best investment for communities,” he said.

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The change is triggering some political opposition.

Couns. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) and Vivian Santos (Point Douglas), whose wards are home to the three pools slated to close, said they were shocked by the proposal and hope to find funding to keep them open.

“These are free pools and they’re in working-class neighbourhoods. These are exactly the types of activities we want kids to be involved with,” said Allard, whose ward includes the Happyland and Windsor Park pools.

“To think that these pools would close is just heartbreaking.”

He believes about $1 million slated for a new Winakwa splash pad could be used to save the Windsor Park pool while funding for the splash pad can be found elsewhere.

Santos said she’s concerned there are no other pools within walking distance of Eldon Ross in her ward.

“Not everybody in this community owns a vehicle, they don’t have the luxury, so (most people) here in this community rely on walking, cycling or taking the bus. Everything needs to be in walking distance,” she said.

Council is set to cast the final vote on the budget March 20.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

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