THE replacement of two aging rec centres in North Vancouver needs to be a top priority of any new councils, according to the outgoing chairman of the recreation commission.
Vincent Santacroce, chairman of the commission until his term ends Dec. 31, warned potential councillors that the issue can't wait any longer. It's already four years since the Facility Plan detailing
the area's replacement needs was released.
That report listed William Griffin, Delbrook and Harry Jerome rec centres as top of the list for redevelopment, and Santacroce said he's concerned too many questions have been left unanswered.
"What needs to happen is somebody just needs to get on with making some tough decisions," he said. "It's now been four years. William Griffin is going ahead and I think the district is acting prudently, but for whatever reason the city is logjammed.
"If it turns out to be an election issue, so be it. That's a good one for people to have."
Both municipalities are in the process of deciding what to put into the new centres, but that process has stalled in the city.
Council promised a lawn bowling club they would keep their current location on Lonsdale earlier this year with the support of Couns. Craig Keating, Rod Clark, Mary Trentadue and Mayor Darrell Mussatto. They then offered the same assurances to the area residents about Norseman and Mickey McDougall Field, but no blueprint for moving forward has come up since a report last year compared the cost of rebuilding or renovating the existing structure.
"I don't support necessarily a complete rebuild. For instance Flicka (Gymnastics) took over the curling rink many years ago, it's been an extremely good space for them," said Coun. Rod Clark.
Coun. Bob Fearnley argued a rebuild makes financial sense.
"If we were to renovate, the renovation would last approximately 20 years, it would cost about two-thirds the amount of building new," he said. He tried to put a referendum question on the ballot for the election earlier this year, but that was turned down - other councillors called it crass electioneering and said the city didn't have a clear question to ask.
Swimming groups, meanwhile, are calling for a 50-metre pool for competitions, something the Facilities Report left out over cost concerns.
In the district, staff began consultation with user groups in September to determine the specifications of the proposed 81,000 square foot replacement for William Griffin and Delbrook. That's expected to include a swimming pool, despite the Facility Plan excluding a pool for Griffin, again due to cost.
Coun. Alan Nixon, who is seeking re-election in the district, questioned whether North Vancouver needs two new pools in each of the newly rebuilt rec centres, which are located slightly more than two kilometers away from each other by road.
"It would seem to me the most practical alternative would be for the two municipalities to get together and build one really nice, really good aquatic centre, which would perhaps go a little bit further to meeting the needs of the swimming community, both recreational and competition," he said.
Clark at the city said he agreed, though so far those discussions haven't got off the ground. He said that way the city could provide a 50-metre pool while still being financially prudent.
There's also the question of how to pay for the new centres. Cost estimates aren't available in the district yet, though a staff report says funding is included in the 2011 capital budget to complete the work, and they are seeking federal funding.
In the city, the largest option included in the consultant's report issued last year reached $69 million, which could be paid for partially by reserves, but also through some redevelopment on the site or through borrowing.
If the councils don't act quickly, Santacroce said, the facilities themselves could force the issue with a major breakdown. Harry Jerome recently came close, he said, when crews discovered pipes that drain the water from the pool "didn't exist anymore.
"They literally had rusted out. The space that the pipes had formerly occupied, the round hole in the ground, was where the water was running," he said.
While crews were able to make a quick fix, he said that won't always be the case as they grow older. Harry Jerome opened in 1966, William Griffin in 1974, while Delbrook was built as a high school in 1957.
"I don't think it takes an engineer to figure out these are old buildings."
tholloway@nsnews.com
