Cornwall outdoor pools to reintroduce pre-pandemic hours, events
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With a few warm days in the books already this spring, some may be eyeing their swimsuits and are ready to dive into one of the City of Cornwall’s outdoor pools.
Cornwall recreation manager Lori Gibeault said the city is aiming to see at least some of its five outdoor pools — St. Francis pool, Terry Fox pool, St. Joseph pool, Reg Campbell pool, and Mattice pool — open as early as the June 22-23 weekend, weather permitting. Splash pads are also set to be running by Victoria Day long weekend, coming up May 18-20.
Open until Aug. 23, Cornwall’s outdoor pools will offer public swimming, swimming lessons, aqua fitness, and possibly senior swim sessions. Returning this year are special events including speed swimming, synchronized swimming, and diving.
“It has been a couple years now,” said Gibeault about the special events coming back. “We didn’t really have (them) during COVID and just operationally at times we didn’t have enough staff to be able to provide those services. But we have a good staff complement this year, so we are very thankful for that, and back in business returning to more of our pre-COVID hours (and events) like before.”
Hours will vary dependent on each pool, said Gibeault, as some programs will be moved from the Aquatic Centre to outdoor pools in July while the facility undergoes a sprinkler system replacement.
New concrete walls and new plumbing upgrades are expected to be complete at Mattice pool by July 2. The pool is one of three with a heater, along with St. Francis and St. Joseph, which is a draw for many folks, according to Gibeault.
“Mattice is on schedule,” she said. “In saying that, it always depends on weather as well.”
The rehabilitation work done by Grant-Marion Construction Ltd. from Cornwall at the total bid price of $1,341,870 is expected to extend the lifespan of the pool by an estimated 20 years. The city had budgeted $525,000 for the project in the 2023 budget; the entire amount will be financed over a 10-year period.
The city has budgeted $130,000 in the 2024 budget for an engineering firm to provide tender documents for the proposed repairs, scheduled to take place in 2025 at Reg Campbell pool, which are estimated at $1,300,000. The pool will also require new concrete and plumbing of the pool basin.
“We will probably go out for tender on that later this year but the project implementation won’t be until next year, probably in the fall,” said Gibeault.
The longer-term plan was to redo the pool basins at all outdoor pools, aiming to have one done for the start of each season until complete.
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