Swimming pool – back to square one!

Of course Maple Creek should have a swimming pool – it’s embarrassing that our community has been without a swimming pool for THREE summers, and probably a fourth.
Through my experience as a member of the Cypress Health Region Board of Directors, 2009 through 2019, I know for a fact that governments don’t respond to facts and logic. I am hoping this is not the case for small, municipal governments – so here goes .   .   .
Several retired businessmen have discussed the swimming pool situation on several occasions and the discussion always comes back to one important question – “Why wouldn’t we build a swimming pool that this community can afford?”
To this group of businessmen, this is such an obvious question it is difficult to understand why “affordability” wouldn’t be number one on the list of criteria when researching the subject – or any subject for that matter.
If you accept this question as the most important one, then the September 22, 2021 referendum is asking the wrong question. At the very least, we are not ready for that question yet.
Obviously, if we set a budget of ONE million dollars for a new pool we already have enough money in hand to get started so let’s build a pool. If we have a budget of THREE million dollars we will have to come up with ANOTHER million and a quarter before we can even start, which means our small community will have to get the other million and half through local taxation. Whew! Will that happen – ever?!
There are several obvious flaws in the planning process to date:
1. The existing structure was removed before the new plan was ready to go to construction.
2. The “hill” was lowered BEFORE soil testing was done.
3. Soil testing found exactly what we all knew was there (water table), which is the reason the hill was there in the first place.
4. An engineer, who repaired the pool in the past and was familiar with its infrastructure, was never contacted for advice.
5. Too much money has already been spent on engineering costs with NO progress towards actual construction.
We believe the entire project has to go back to square one. Start from the beginning – which would be, “how much money can this community afford for a new swimming pool”? Planning has to involve the community members who have been actively planning and fundraising for the pool project.
AND, get it done right now! A reputable community pool builder was actually in Maple Creek with a perfectly workable plan in hand, at a perfectly reasonable price, so it shouldn’t be that difficult to get started right now!!
If Town Council will not react to community input, then why bother us with this untimely referendum?
Submitted respectfully, with the health of our Community in mind,
Don Lewis
Maple Creek

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get More Maple Creek News →