By Greg Wigmore
Supporters of the plan to reconstruct Plant Pool are stepping up their fundraising and lobbying tactics in the months remaining before the city decides whether the proposal will sink or swim.
The Plant Pool Recreation Association says it raised about $10,000 from a dinner auction recently at St. Anthony’s Soccer Club. Association president Sally Rutherford says the group was delighted by the high turnout of supporters, which exceeded expectations.
The auction was characterized by spirited bidding for items donated by local politicians, merchants and other individuals. Items on the block ranged from books and crafts by local authors and artisans to a baseball bat produced in the factory of Ottawa batmaker Sam Holman.
The dinner auction followed more modest fundraising events, including rummage sales and dessert parties, all aimed at collecting money that will be used to purchase equipment and provide programming for the pool.
Rutherford says if the city approves the plan, it will reconstruct the pool complex and equip it with bare essentials, but the recreation association will be responsible for providing equipment needed for programs such as lifeguard training and swimming lessons.
The 77-year-old pool building closed five years ago after structural faults made it a safety hazard.
While it was open, the pool was a core provider of recreational activities for the inner-city community, says Jeannette Tidman, another recreation association member.
Tidman says she recognized its importance 20 years ago when she was a Girl Guide leader in Centretown and regularly began taking the girls in her unit to swim in the pool. Swimming is no longer an option for the area’s youth, she says, unless they can find a ride across town or to the suburbs.
“There’s a whole generation of kids growing up now that doesn’t know what it’s like to have a pool you can walk to,” she says.
Rutherford agrees, noting that the nearest public pool is at Brewer Park, inaccessible to most children in the low-income neighbourhood, who cannot depend on their parents to drive them.
“What we’ve learned from talking to schools (in the community) is that the majority of kids don’t learn how to swim,” she says.
The recreation association hopes to provide swimming lessons for underprivileged children in the community, Rutherford says, similar to the free “soccerships” it awards to children whose parents cannot afford to enroll them in soccer programs.
Details of the building’s design have yet to be finalized, but Rutherford expects a public meeting to be held next month to discuss the issue. A one-storey building would likely be cheaper, but would use up more of the property, says Gordon Lennox, project architect for design firm Griffiths Rankin Cook.
A more compact, two-storey facility would allow for more outdoor activities, as well as a drop-off area where children could be driven right to the door of the complex, instead of exiting from the street.
Apart from the proposed five-lane, 25-metre lap pool, early drafts of the facility include a smaller leisure pool, whirlpool, sauna and fitness room.
No construction will take place, however, unless the project receives the expected infusion of city funds.
The city has thus far allocated up to $1 million for the project design. Rutherford says the total cost for design and construction will likely be about $6.5 million.
With the city’s decision expected after February’s budget is prepared, the recreation association plans to increase pressure on city council as its campaign enters the home stretch.
“We’re going to keep lobbying and keep it on the city’s agenda,” Rutherford says, adding that the 170 guests who paid $35 a plate to attend the dinner auction illustrate the significant level of community support behind the pool.
Somerset Coun. Elisabeth Arnold, the project’s chief advocate on city council, says she’s hopeful her colleagues from across Ottawa will recognize the positive impact the pool has had on the Centretown community for generations.
She notes that even Mayor Bob Chiarelli has admitted growing up around the pool.
“He learned to swim in the Plant Pool and told us a story of how he almost drowned there once,” Arnold said.
Arnold says the mayor seems to have put his bad memories of the pool behind him and she believes he’s committed to ensuring the project remains one of the city’s top priorities at budget time.