St. Albert city council has directed staff to find options for an additional water amenity feature at Fountain Park pool following the news that one of the rec-centres two water slides is going to be replaced by a spray-feature.
Roughly half of the public Feb. 7 council meeting was dedicated to debating the motion, put forward by Coun. Shelley Biermanski, and after three amendments the motion passed with only Mayor Cathy Heron and Coun. Natalie Joly opposed.
Biermanski's motion stems from council learning in December that the larger of the two water slides at Fountain Park, which has been closed for significant repairs since last May, was being retired due to its age and the inability for it to be repaired. In the water slide's place, administration has decided to install a spray "playscape" designed for young pool-goers not quite comfortable swimming in deep water.
Biermanski told The Gazette her initial intention behind the motion was to have city staff not insert the spray-feature, and consider other amenities to replace the slide that could be used by a larger age demographic.
"I feel that the renovation is kind of a big downgrade with a slide missing," Biermanski said, adding, "to me, a renovation should be the same or better, not lesser."
Cancelling the spray-feature installation and moving forward with an alternative option would prevent the pool from re-opening on schedule, this summer, as the required plumbing and flooring has been put in place and the spray-feature has already been ordered, council heard.
Through a series of amendments to the motion, city administration has been directed to include a business case for council consideration in the 2024 budget for an additional amenity at Fountain Park designed for a wider age demographic.
"I just want the pool to be what it was before and cater to all age groups, not just pick an area and make it for little [kids]," Biermanski said.
Every councillor weighed-in on the topic during the meeting, and Coun. Wes Brodhead said he appreciated the intent behind Biermanski's motion, and voted in favour because it wouldn't delay the pool's re-opening.
"I see Fountain Park as an all ages facility and the idea of going into a water facility and enjoying it is not age limited," Brodhead said.
"A huge number of our users are teenagers and adults," Coun. Sheena Hughes said during debate. "Those teens go to the pool all the time as a thing to do and I want to have it when they come there and have a draw and not just try to drown each other."
Prior to voting, Coun. Mike Killick asked administration whether or not water slides were considered service levels, which can only be changed through council policy, but chief administrative officer Bill Fletcher and deputy chief administrative officer Dianne Enger told council that service levels for city rec-centres includes play features, but not specific features.
"It was a holistic look at the amenities that were available across St. Albert installations, so with two slides at Servus Place, and a very small accessible playground area service place, and we looked at the relative age groups, that, factored with resources to be honest, was certainly a consideration that really drove this," Fletcher said of administrations choice to move forward with a spray-feature to replace the slide.
"We look at our full complement of recreation amenities that we provide across the city and try to provide complimentary and differing amenities so people have different experiences at our different aquatic play areas, whether it's Grosvenor pool or whether it's our water spray park or our two indoor facilities," Enger said.
Speaking in opposition of the motion, Mayor Heron said she would rather have council's time and administration's time be spent working towards other recreation projects, such as the future community amenities site being planned near Ray Gibbon Drive.
"Fountain Park pool is a great facility, but it does have, in my opinion, a little bit of everything for everybody," Heron said.
Coun. Joly also said she'd prefer administration's time be spent working on future projects.
"I want us to have the capacity to do a great job on the things that we can do, [such as] Millennium Park, community amenities site and I want to protect staff's time from that so we can be focused in our activities," Joly said.
The spray-feature is the only new amenity being put in Fountain Park while it's being repaired, adding that the diving board, small slide, and climbing wall will all be put back into place in time for the pool's re-opening, read a council backgrounder prepared by Kelly McConnell, the city's senior manager of recreation and parks.
Council will be presented with the business case for an additional amenity at Fountain Park in October when the draft 2024 budget is released.
