It would seem that Servus Credit Union Place is not too concerned with the needs of the older population.
Fountain Park Recreation Centre, where a large group of seniors attend aquacise programs at 7 and 8 a.m. from Monday to Friday, will temporarily lose these programs from the end of November until the end of January (the leisure pool area and children’s pool will be shut down because of filtration work). At first we were all informed that the 7 and 8 a.m. program would be accommodated at Servus Place.
On Monday, Oct. 25 we learned that Servus Place can only accommodate 25 people per class and that we must pay ahead of time for every class we wish to attend to secure a spot in the replacement programs. There are often more than 25 people per program at 8 a.m.! We have asked that Servus Place might be a little more sensitive to seniors — if they cannot use the pool could those who wish use the walking track instead for the same pool fee. The answer was no.
One of the facts of life about being a senior is you may not always be able to go to every session you wish — that is why drop-in is such a great advantage. We asked whether a seniors’ program could be scheduled if there was down time at some other part of the day. Alas the staff at Fountain Park could not help us with these questions since they have no input of any significance; Servus Place has its own administration that makes decisions.
It is a pity that these issues could not have been a shared process, in this particular unique situation. We would have been happy to explain our perspective to Servus Place administration (e.g. many of us find that one hour at a time is adequate activity). After all, we pay our levy for the pool with our taxes like other citizens. We do not know the figures but imagine that the seniors’ population uses Servus Place far less than any other city demographic.
Seniors who now use the pool at Fountain Park had little regard for Servus Place because of the lack of pool space for older people. This has certainly been reinforced. Imagine with the right approach Servus Place could have enabled seniors to see other parts of the facility and pass through the doors and maybe have expanded its use by our older population. So much for marketing! Surely it is better to have Servus Place used at a senior rate than not used at all!
Liz Allchin, St. Albert
