Sarnia councillors want to see an outdoor pool as part of the Germain Park master plan.
Steve Langois from Monteith Brown Planning Consultants presented the concept to council on Monday, but the $5.7 million document did not include a replacement for Jackson Pool which was demolished in April 2022.
Councillor Adam Kilner said installing a pool would benefit everyone, including newcomers to the community.
"Especially as we get larger numbers of people from different parts of the world in our community," said Kilner. "They may not have been born on oceans or the Great Lakes, and may or may not know how to swim. I regularly hear about people who take their kids hours away from Sarnia for recreation, why can't we have that here? I've received numerous emails about the pool over the last few weeks. I do think that's something people are concerned about. When Tecumseh Pool goes under for repairs, what's the alternative for people?"
CAO Chris Carter told council that the intent of the concept plan is to be a positive thing for the community. He noted that adding an outdoor pool would add millions of dollars to the project cost.
"We're here to try and find the positives out of this," said Carter. "Stuff can get moved around, ball diamonds can be included, soccer pitches can be moved around, and swimming pools can be added. In addition to that, we do have it in the report how much an inground pool would cost and you're looking at between $5 million and $6 million. It's still an option, we can build anything you want."
Carter said the city previously received about $1.4-million in grant money under the Investing in Canada infrastructure program, but remains about $4-million short to install the pool, plus another $200,000 annually in upkeep costs.
"That's all tangible," he said. "But, staff wanted to see what they could get with that $1.4 million so you don't have to look at increasing potentially your rates for budget, but still accommodate some sort of water feature."
Councillor Bill Dennis was among those to express concerns about the proposal to remove two of five baseball diamonds and create a multi-use indoor recreation facility.
"We absolutely can not eliminate two ball diamonds, this directly hits our youth who we are trying to keep in Sarnia," said Dennis. "We can't take steps that suggest our youth aren't important in this community. The president of Bluewater Men's Slow Pitch says we already have a diamond shortage. There is no free diamond time now, so imagine what it would be like if we eliminated two diamonds. I will never support a plan which will hurt our youth and add to the stereotype that Sarnia is a retirement town."
Other amenities included in phase one of the plan are dedicated outdoor pickleball courts, a multi-use court for basketball and ice skating, the creation of a permanent, year-round, off-leash dog area, washroom, parking and plaza improvements.
The second phase would see space for a multi-use indoor recreation facility, pending further study and funding.
Monteith Brown will continue to work with city staff, and will come up with a couple of different concepts for Germain Park for review in a few weeks.
