Councillor vows to fight for Sherbrook Pool

A Winnipeg city councillor vows to not let Sherbrook Pool go down without a fight.

Coun. Harvey Smith has been told the main supports for the ceiling of the 80-year-old facility are badly rusted. He has no idea how much it will cost to fix, but said the city must repair the facility, not shut it down.

"It's a dereliction of duty. I find it appalling that we have a resource that we let deteriorate," he said.

"This is an historic building and many many people use it."

The city suddenly closed the pool Nov. 29 as a result of concerns arising from an inspection. People were swimming when they were ordered out of the pool and told to leave immediately.

The city has not provided a specific reason for the closure but has said a third-party, private-sector engineering firm has been hired to assist city staff with the assessment of the building.

Friends of the Sherbrook Pool, a community group that has raised millions of dollars for the facility, told CBC News on Monday that they are worried the city might say the repairs are too costly and close the pool for good.

Smith said Tuesday he will contact the person in charge of pools for the city and stress that  Sherbrook has to be fixed.

In the meantime, fall aquatics classes that were running at Sherbrook Pool have been relocated to other venues, according to the city.

The Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex and Eldon Ross Pool will have more aquatics offerings in the winter session.