The group hoping to bring an indoor swimming pool to Queens has asked council to approve $4 million in construction funding without a clear idea how it would affect taxpayers.
In a presentation to Region of Queens Municipality (RQM) council Sept. 11, the Queens Community Aquatic Society (QCAS) outlined its plans for a four-lane, 25-metre swimming facility that would cost at least $12 million to complete.
To reach that total, provincial and federal governments would be asked to match the municipality’s contribution, said organization president Celeste Johnston. “This would obviously involve a tax increase,” she told council. “It isn’t going to happen any other way.”
To pay for its share of construction, Johnston said RQM would need to hike taxes four years in a row by two cents for every $100 in assessed property value. However, these successive tax increases could only be expected to generate about $1.8 million, less than half the amount being requested.
“I knew that was not an accurate estimate,” Johnston said when contacted later by LighthouseNow. “I put that in as an estimate. It’s up to the region to figure that part out.”
To hit the $4 million target, Johnston suggested RQM hike taxes by a greater amount over a lengthier period but did not provide specifics.
Based on an estimate of 1,000 users — which councillor Kevin Muise suggested was overly optimistic – Johnston said the aquatic facility would have annual operational deficits of up to $185,000. She said QCAS hopes to cover these yearly shortfalls through private and corporate fundraising.
The proposed facility would be located at Queens Place Emera Centre and feature a four-lane lap pool, a shallow teaching and lounging pool, a large slide and a waterfall.
Johnston, an aqua-fit instructor, said the teaching and lounging pool could also be used as a therapy pool. The waterfall is “really good for certain neurological and psychological conditions,” she added.
Johnston said QCAS originally hoped for a six-lane lap pool, but a study it commissioned recommended a smaller facility to limit costs.
In response to a question from councillor Heather Kelly, she said the proposed pool would not be able to host swim meets. “You need six lanes to hold an official meet,” she said. Swim times in the proposed pool would not be officially recognized for competitive purposes, but negotiations with Swim Nova Scotia could possibly fix that, she said.
The study, funded by RQM and written by consultants William Burke and Catherine Oliver, drew on the examples of Dalhousie, N.B. and Stephenville, N.L., both of which built indoor swimming facilities.
“They found in those two places that an aquatic centre was an asset to a small community,” said Johnston, “and that it was a particularly good investment of public funds.”
In addition to the recreational, physical and social benefits of an indoor pool, Johnston said having an aquatic facility could also help attract new residents to Queens. “We know anecdotally of people who have decided to relocate to the South Shore of Nova Scotia, but not here, because there’s not a pool,” she told council.
Councillors Gil Johnson and Raymond Fiske spoke in favour of having an indoor aquatic facility but said their support for the project is contingent on the project being affordable for the municipality and its residents. After the presentation, Mayor David Dagley told LighthouseNow council will be cautious in its approach to the QCAS request.
“I want to go carefully,” he said. “My preference would be to have a community meeting. I think this is a prime, important project that needs council and citizen buy-in.”
Asked about the group’s loose grasp on the tax implications of the project, Dagley indicated further discussions with QCAS will be required. “It was evident to me the numbers don’t crunch,” he said.
LighthouseNow Progress Bulletin
September 26, 2018
Scott Costen 