The City of Timmins continues to eye the construction of a new swimming pool and recreational complex. The list of potential sites has been narrowed down to one, the same site where the current pool exists at the Archie Dillon Sportsplex.
Big questions remain about where the city will find the money for the build, which is estimated to cost between $33-40 million.
Mayor Steve Black has applied for $5 million in Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation money, and an RFP (request for proposal) is currently being prepared, which will eventually come to city council for approval. Black estimated that the detailed designs won't be ready until late summer or early fall.
The idea has been highly controversial throughout the community. There is big support for new facilities, but the idea of overwhelming taxpayer burden, both short and long term, is a real concern for many.
Timmins has not built any new recreational facilities in several decades, and there is a strong sentiment that modern amenities are essential to keeping the city an attractive place to live, work, and play.
A reference point is the nearby town of Cochrane, located 105 kilometres northeast of Timmins, which boasts the Tim Horton Event Centre. It includes an NHL-sized ice sheet, community hall, fitness centre, as well as an impressive aquatic centre, which opened in the summer of 2006. It is the first public pool in the town's history.
"The old Tim Hortons Arena was about fifty years old when we replaced it. The new facility, the Tim Horton Events Center, was about a 25-year debate in the community. The ducks finally lined up when the 'Superbuild' fund came about and the right mix of councillors and community advocates got on board," said Mayor Peter Politis.
The 'SuperBuild Growth Fund' was a $20-billion program introduced by the provincial government in 1999 to assist Ontario communities with major infrastructure projects over a five-year period in the early 2000s.
Some of the numbers in the cost estimates for the Timmins project have raised a few eyebrows. How did Cochrane manage to find the money, keep the costs relatively low, and still deliver a beautiful end product?
"It was paid for through $5.8 million in funding; $1.6 million in donations; about $362,000 from reserves and just under $4 million in financing. The financing is what the taxpayers paid for which was mortgaged long term and the impact on the taxpayer was about $40 per property per year," said Politis.
"The entire 'Events Centre', which would be more equivalent to the Timmins 'Sportsplex' idea, cost just under $12 million. The Town at the time hired its own engineer and designed the facility, then hired the developer to build what it designed. Some go to what is called a 'design build', which means the developer both designs and builds. Pros and cons to each. Not sure what Timmins is considering."
The aquatic facility at the Tim Horton Event Centre in Cochrane also has several family friendly attractionsThe new facility in Timmins, which once had a new ice sheet or two in the works, has now seen the arena plans squashed.
Many Timmins area residents travel to the pool in Cochrane, especially those with younger children. If Timmins eventually builds a new pool, it may impact attendance numbers in Cochrane although Politis isn't overly concerned.
"Our events center and the pool are very unique. We attract people from a lot of places. Building the pool is the first step obviously, but customer service and driving visitation for other communities is another. We will continue to cater to the users of the facility regardless of where they are from, and hopefully provide for the experience they seek and continue to grow usership."
Cochrane's aquatic centre includes attractions such as a 21 foot high water slide, a leisure lagoon, lazy river, sauna, a 'tots' pool for little ones, and a hot tub. It has been very well received and supported by the community, and is truly a jewel in Northeastern Ontario.
But that's not to say it wasn't a struggle according to Politis. There were issues, problems, delays, and cost overruns in the various phases of completing the project, although he didn't necessarily want to get into the nitty gritty.
"We could write a book on this question. We learned a lot. We tendered the process out and were probably too 'hands on' from a political level. The developer and engineer were separate phases that led to a lot of balls being dropped, followed by finger pointing. If we do it again, we would strongly consider a design build, that the developer takes full responsibility for. The town has had to absorb many of the small shortfalls as a result," he said.
As per a recent vote by Timmins city council, the new project at Archie Dillon is still contingent on receiving adequate funding, from both government as well as the private sector.
