Councillors pitch new effort to keep Inglewood Pool open

A reconsideration motion set to go to a council committee on Thursday seeks to keep Calgary's Inglewood Aquatic Centre open, at least for another couple of years.

A motion from Couns. Sonya Sharp and Andre Chabot wants council to reconsider its decision last month to shut down the community pool at the end of this year.

"We want to provide the community some more options and time to utilize the facility for physical activities, swimming, mental health and just have this operate until it can't," said Sharp, the Ward 1 councillor.

A city report recommended closing the facility due to its aging infrastructure. The Inglewood Pool is one of more than a dozen city facilities needing major electrical repairs, officials said.

The cost to repair the Inglewood pool building would be hundreds of thousands of dollars and could take three months to complete.

"We heard a lot from a lot of the residents. They're concerned about access, affordability and they need to at least ensure that there's something in close proximity until such time as the as the new facilities are completed," said Coun. Chabot.

The proposed notice of motion wants to see the Inglewood facility remain open until at least 2026 when upgrades to the MNP Centre are expected to be completed.

Community members are holding a rally at City Hall on Friday at 3 p.m. and another "Save the Pool" event at the Ironwood at noon on Nov. 10.

"So I think that there's a lot of people speaking up about the pool. You know, our density is increasing and it's just, it's really shortsighted (to close it)," said Fiona McKenzie, an organizer of a petition to save the pool.

The motion, set to go to Calgary's Executive Committee, asks administration to find $350,000 to cover "only what is urgently and critically required to operate" and another $400,000 per year in operating costs.

Because the motion is a reconsideration, it would need support of two-thirds of council instead of a simple majority. After it goes through the committee stage, the discussion about funding will go to council's debate about mid-cycle budget adjustments at the end of the month.