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The Peace River Regional District is continuing with its engagement sessions for the North Peace Leisure Pool Replacement Project this week, with several Open Houses throughout the region.

These Open Houses follow on from the workshops held in April, where those who registered for a session had the opportunity to learn more about the proposed project and participate in round table break-out sessions with project facilitators and experts. These sessions were held both in-person and virtually, to best reach anyone who wished to attend.

This week’s Open Houses are also being held in person and virtually.

“It’s vital that we hear from area residents through these upcoming opportunities,” said North Peace Leisure Facility Replacement Project Steering Committee chair Trevor Bolin. “The project partners will use this input to make decisions on the next steps, which could include holding a referendum vote on the loan amount.”

According to April workshop facilitator Therese MacKinnon, the referendum process for the current facility led to many of the issues facing the facility, including its “end of life” status, which is upon us, even though the pool is not quite 30 years old.

In order to get the project approved cuts had to be made to the budget during the referendum process in the mid-1990s. This is resulted in a smaller budget than needed to meet the original design.

“Decisions that had to be made and changes done to build the pool with the amenities that you have today, but some of those things were like making the building a bit smaller, moving the waterslide to the outside, which of course has resulted in seasonal availability issues,” MacKinnon said.

“There were also decisions made about the types of materials used, for example pipes were not as thick as maybe the standard pipes available, and that’s contributed to those pipes deteriorating more quickly,” she said.

These factors, along with a growing population which means the current facility isn’t large enough to accommodate everyone who wants to use it, have led to the process of envisioning a new, modern facility that the PRRD hopes will meet the needs of the region, now and into the future.

Three potential options have been presented to the public through the PRRD’s information campaign and on the district’s Have Your Say website. The district has also been collecting feedback through comments on the site and the community survey.

Descriptions of each option include a rough estimate of the project’s cost, which Kim Winston who represented the architect HCMA at the workshops, says includes “construction costs, contingency funds, soft costs as well as equipment inside the building, in addition to permits and professional fees. It is a wholistic cost of the entire project, not just construction costs.”

Once a preferred option is determined, more detailed planning will be done, which will allow for the more accurate estimates needed for project approval.

Because the project is still in the pre-design phase, the certainty of cost is in the plus or minus 25 percent range, said Winston. “That is, could be 25% more or less than what we’re quoting. As more time goes on and design certainty increases so does the cost certainty.”

“While these are estimates only, we felt it was really important to provide this information, to help inform decision making of the decision makers. We know that costs are really important especially when it comes down to what it might mean for you,” Winston said.

MacKinnon said there has been a lot of work done to get a sense of what residents of the partner communities – Area C, Area B, Taylor, and Fort St. John – would like to see in terms of amenities and to come up with options and get some of the initial costing done.

“However, when the costs did come in, and they were significantly higher than anticipated, it was important to go back to the community and let them know, even though these are rough estimates, what the costs are looking like,” MacKinnon said.

Costs are based on all four jurisdictions participating. If one jurisdiction chooses not to participate, the project will have to be paused and reassessed, due to significant increases in costs to the others.

No decision has been made on what taxation model will be applied to fund the project.

“We were just directed to use improvements only for the purpose of the engagement,” she said.

The tax impact includes operating costs starting in 2028, as well as the cost for the construction, repayment of the loan for the construction and a three percent capital replacement cost.

“Tax impacts vary by jurisdiction, but the tax rate is the same for all.”

Residents are encouraged to come out to the Open Houses this week, to learn more about the proposed options for replacing the North Peace Leisure Pool and to give PRRD representatives feedback about what you would like to see in a new aquatic facility.

“We heard clearly that residents are concerned about the costs and want more information and opportunities to discuss the potential mix of amenities in the new facility, the costs and property tax implications,” said PRRD Board Chair Brad Sperling. “The open houses and surveys will provide an opportunity to drill down on the detail that matter most, and information at the open houses will help property owners calculate the estimated tax impact for their property.”