St. Albert residents struggling to get their children a coveted spot in swimming lessons might benefit from a report council has requested about the city’s busy aquatics programs.
City staff will be preparing a report for council later this year that will evaluate options to address concerns around demand for the aquatics programs, including a look at an advance registration period for residents, a cap on the percentage of non-residents allowed to enrol and the implementation of a fee structure with different prices for residents and non-residents.
The move was suggested by Coun. Sheena Hughes. She noted the plans to expand pool space in St. Albert are years away, while the demand for aquatics programs – there are quite substantial waiting lists for certain slots – will only increase.
“The taxpayers are the ones that are subsidizing this pool,” she said, adding recent statistics show that in some cases nearly half of registrants aren’t from St. Albert.
The report included statistics from the first day of spring registration, which was last week. More than 2,500 registrations were received. About 500 people went on wait lists for preschool and advanced swimming programs, though the report notes some people go on several wait lists so might be counted more than once.
Some programs filled to capacity on the first day, with an overall 90 per cent fill rate for swimming lessons and 88 per cent fill rates for preschool programs.
Coun. Tim Osborne said anyone who has tried to sign children up for swimming lessons in St. Albert knows there are challenges.
“If you forget the day, you’re out of luck,” Osborne said. However, he cautioned rushing ahead with limiting non-residential access. He said the first approach should be to try and have more room for everyone.
Coun. Cam MacKay said council needs to know the full ramifications of having priority registration for residents before going ahead, noting many in St. Albert also travel to other communities to use amenities there.
Coun. Cathy Heron said she’s never supported the idea of non-residents paying more than residents, but in this case “the only difference here is this one facility in St. Albert is at capacity.”
When that’s the case, she said, St. Albert residents need to be thought of first. She suggested conversations need to happen with neighbouring municipalities.
Mayor Nolan Crouse pointed out that Sturgeon County donated to Servus Place, while Morinville has an ongoing contribution to Servus Place for the naming rights to the Morinville Room. He said the implications of limiting non-residential access would have to be considered.
The report to council noted city administration is already in the process of reviewing the aquatics program issue, with an aim to provide recommendations later this year.
Demands on aquatic space in the community could be seen earlier in Monday’s meeting when members of the St. Albert Sailfish Swim Club’s board asked for the use of an extra lane in May.
Board president Werner Biegler and board secretary Marcie Gray said arrangements have already been made with staff for extra access in June, July and August, but they asked council for space in May as well to help meet the growing demand for their club. The club caps membership at 90 and there are already 49 swimmers on the wait list as of February, Gray said.
“We have not had an ability to grow,” she said, noting the club has had use of the same four lanes since before 2005. The additional lane means the club could bring in 15 more swimmers.
At issue is a city practice of leaving at least one lane open for public swimming. No motions were made by council to address the club’s request on Monday, though city manager Patrick Draper said there have been extensive conversations between staff and the club.
