City council votes to officially shut down Inglewood pool in December

Calgary city council formalized that the Inglewood Aquatic Centre will be officially shut down on Dec. 22 of this year following an 8-7 vote during a Tuesday council meeting. 

It's something that Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra, the councillor in charge of the area where the pool is located, said the city's been considering for a decade. 

"It's really disappointing that we're closing the Inglewood pool, but I would also like to point out that this was a decision that was made a while ago," Carra told reporters at City Hall on Tuesday, adding the Inglewood Aquatics Centre was identified as one of the least used and highest cost per visit to operate out of any of the city's community pools. 

In 2021, council voted to delay closing the facility — which was originally erected in the early 1960s — until an aquatic facility expansion was added to the nearby MNP Community and Sport Centre in Lindsay Park. That expansion is set to begin construction later this year, with an estimated opening date of early 2027.

However, earlier this year the city discovered a major electrical issue that was estimated to cost $600,000 and require a three-month closure in order to repair at the Inglewood facility, forcing council to pull the plug on the swimming pool this December, sooner than anticipated.  

"The electrical systems are corroded … the risk is full failure of the electrical system," said Heather Johnson, the City of Calgary's director of recreation and social programs.

Prior to the vote, she advised city council on Tuesday that given the scale and the cost of the work required even to just maintain it for another three years, closing the pool this December is the best option.

"Nobody likes closing pools … but I am here to provide my best professional advice about how council spends taxpayer dollars," said Johnson. 

"At this point, with some of these aging facilities that we've seen, can no longer be operated successfully. Our best professional advice is that we close those and we invest in new facilities."

Along with Carra, other councillors in favour of the Dec. 22 closure also included:

• Ward 2's Jennifer Wyness.
• Ward 3's Jasmine Mian. 
• Ward 6's Richard Pootmans.
• Ward 8's Courtney Walcott.
• Ward 11's Kourtney Penner.
• Ward 12's Evan Spencer.
• Ward 14's Peter Demong.

The remaining councillors, including Mayor Jyoti Gondek, voted against the motion to close the pool.

Pool is 'miles from great shape,' says city administration 

Similar major electrical issues were discovered at a dozen other community swimming pools across Calgary. Johnson says repairs have so far been done at four of those facilities.

"The electrical line item for those repairs has been between $1 million and $2 million on every single facility. So it is costing more than $600,000 to do just the electrical work at the facility with Inglewood," said Johnston. 

"I think what we didn't communicate clearly is it made it sound like this facility just needed $600,000 and then it would be in great shape. That's not true. This facility is not in great shape. It's miles from great shape."

Johnson also added that maintaining the 1963-era infrastructure will involve costs beyond just electrical repairs, including items like a new roof and other building maintenance.

Residents express concerns to council

During Tuesday's meeting, council also voted unanimously to allow a few members of the public to make their last-minute cases for why the pool should stay open, where four people in favour of keeping it open expressed their concerns. 

Among the speakers was Fiona McKenzie, an Inglewood resident of 25 years, who believes the local pool is needed for senior residents, residents with disabilities and children, among other community members. 

"[The Inglewood Aquatic Centre] is a lifeline for their physical and mental health and a place where they can feel connected to community," McKenzie told council.

"This is not an emotional plea, it's a practical one. The city is pushing for density and while we do need housing, we also need accessible and affordable places to be active."

Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong told reporters earlier Tuesday that the concerns the city has been hearing from the public aren't limited to Inglewood's pool. 

"It's not just the closure of the Vecova and closure of Inglewood, it's also the fact that we've lost the YMCA downtown and we've seen over the course of the last three years different maintenance shutdowns for extended periods of time," Wong said.

"As a result, constituents downtown and in the north of Calgary are saying, 'where are our facilities?'"