Tecumseh Pool has been getting busier after a slow start Canada Day, a YMCA spokesperson says.
Tecumseh Pool has been getting busier after a slow start on Canada Day, a YMCA spokesperson says.
“Now we’re seeing some more people coming through as the word is getting out,” Paul Skuza said.
Likely helping is a July 8 decision by the City of Sarnia to subsidize pool fees by 60 per cent.
“Numbers are starting to pick up a little bit,” Skuza said about activity this week.
The pool at the Cox Youth Center had cost $2 for open swim admissions in 2019, but that rose to $5 when it reopened earlier this month.
Access was free in 2020 and 2021.
People contacted city hall unhappy about the cost increase, city community services general manager Stacey Forfar said.
“We certainly received some feedback from the community and reacted quickly and, I think, appropriately to provide support for the rest of the summer,” she said about reducing the entrance fees back to $2.
How much subsidizing this year’s pilot program will cost depends on usership, which probably depends on weather, she said.
“Outdoor pools are so hit or miss,” she added.
Usage updates with the Y, which took over lifeguard duties at the pool after the Canadian Red Cross discontinued lifeguard training earlier this year, are expected every two weeks, she said.
A city report in May said the arrangement was expected to save the city about $100,000 this year.
The hope is for the community to make good use of the facility, Forfar said. The splash pad there was also recently renovated and made free to access from 8 am to 8 pm daily.
“Things have picked up the last week or so,” she said about pool use.
Further updates are expected to the pool center as part of ongoing $2.3-million park improvementsincluding recently upgraded playground equipment and a new skate park planned this fall, Forfar said.
A recent press release said the city recognizes the importance of people being able to access the pool to beat the heat and learn how to swim, noting free sponsored swims are also available on weekends.
Asked why there was no announcement about the price hike until the pool opened, Forfar described the city scrambling earlier this year to pull together an agreement with the YMCA so the pool could reopen at all.
The charity also has an existing subsidy program for members that’s based on income.
“It was a quick turnaround in the spring, and we had sort of focused on really the programming model in and of itself, recognizing that the (YMCA) subsidy program would capture anybody that couldn’t afford the pricing model of it,” Forfar said.
“So it met with that intent of providing the programming at that price point but, again, we certainly received some feedback and just returned back to the 2019 pricing.”
Expect a decision later this year or early next about how access will look in 2023, she said.
“It’s a really big operation,” said Skuza, general manager of the Jerry McCaw Family Centre, about running the additional pool. The Y has run one out of the Finch Drive center for years.
“To take on a pool requires a lot of layers,” Skuza said.
Plans are for both organizations to debrief in the fall about how things went, he and Forfar said.
Skuza noted the YMCA is happy to be working with the City of Sarnia
The pool remains open until Aug. 28.
Details are available at sarnia.ca/pool/aquatic-facilities.