Following the Crystal Pool replacement referendum in February and the City of Victoria’s budget being approved last week, city council will be looking at next steps with the project in this week’s committee of the whole meeting.
Victoria residents voted 58% in favour of the project going forward, which will see the City take on a debt of $162.2 million.
Those who voted in the referendum were also asked if they would have liked the City to build the new pool on the north site of Central Park or the south site.
The north site would mean less construction time, but the pool would have to be shut down throughout construction, whereas the south site would take longer and impact several trees in the park, along with the basketball courts and the playground.
City Councillor Jeremy Caradonna was a fierce advocate of the pool project going forward, and now that it is, he says he wants to see the facility built where the people of Victoria have indicated they want it.
“The north option also received an overwhelming margin of support,” said Caradonna in a statement.
“While that aspect of the vote is technically not binding, my view is that Council should view it as binding unless new and significant information comes forward.”
Caradonna noted that given the “knock-down-and-rebuild approach,” the pool’s interrupted service of programming will be a challenge.
To mitigate this challenge, he said he will advocate to council that a shuttle bus should run from Crystal Pool to neighbouring communities’ rec centres throughout construction.
Caradonna also asked that the Victoria residents who voted “No” to the pool replacement, give the project a chance as the next steps are taken.
“Council will take into account the impacts of this project on the ongoing budget deliberations,” said Caradonna.
“For my part, I remain committed to delivering on this mandate while keeping affordability and cost of living front and centre in my decision-making.”
In this week’s committee of the whole meeting, council will give direction to City staff on how to proceed with this project next.
This will include the final decision on whether it will be built on the north site or south site, allowing staff to procure all necessary funds and resources and directing them to provide council and the community with regular updates on the project.
Once the ink is dry on these council decisions, the design phase will be initiated and is expected to last around two years.
Following the design phase, construction will begin in 2027 and the pool is expected to be completed in 2030.
Only once the construction phase begins will the current Crystal Pool facility be demolished.
