Rec complex and library project set to go before Cambridge council Thursday night

The concept for a new recreation complex and library in Cambridge is set to go before city council in a special meeting Thursday night.

City staff prepared a report that has two options for councillors:

• Option A would build a 9,100-square-metre facility and that would include an eight-lane lap pool, a 1,021-square-foot space for the Idea Exchange, 2.4 hectares for park space and has a projected cost of $99,771,880.
• Option B would build a 10,300-square-meter facility and that would include a 10-lane lap pool, a 1,180-square-metre space for the Idea Exchange, 2.4 hectares of park space and has a projected cost of $107,935,380.

Staff are recommending council move ahead with Option A. It would mean an increase of 4.45 per cent to the tax levy, or about $68 per year for the average household. Option B would increase taxes by 4.89 per cent, or about $73 a year.

Need for facility cited in 2014 report

The staff report notes the need for a new multi-purpose sport and recreational facility for the city was cited in the 2014 recreation facilities master plan. Originally, council had voted to put a multiplex on lands owned by Conestoga College but in May 2016, council voted in favour of looking for alternative locations.

In Feburary 2019, council voted in favour of putting the recreation complex in southeast Galt.

In suggesting Option A, staff said in the report that it "provides the full complement of programming offered by Option B while also providing additional square footage of programmable park space due to the smaller building footprint and reduced parking lot size."

If the project is approved by council on Thursday night, staff said the next steps would be to complete a schematic design this summer before moving onto the detailed design phase.

Larger pool preferred by Aquajets

The local swim club, the Cambridge Aquajets, hopes council goes for Option B.

Colleen Murdoch, president of the Cambridge Aquajet Swim Club, said either option for a new pool will be welcome "but we are definitely pushing for the 10-lane pool because we feel like there are more options and bigger potential for a 10-lane in the area." 

In an interview with CBC News, Murdoch said a 10-lane pool would allow the club to use the deep end while city swim lessons could take place in the shallow end. An eight-lane pool would be too small for that. The club is also asking the city to increase the seating for the pool, which is set at 150 people for both Option A and B.

A 10-lane pool opens up opportunities for the club to host larger swim meets, Murdoch said.

"There is not another 10-lane pool between Toronto and Windsor and so there are just some really great potential opportunities there to host local, regional, provincial swim meets as well as high school meets," she said.

Many swim meets are more than one day, which means families would be travelling to the region, staying overnight and eating in local restaurants, she said. 

On top of that, interest in swimming is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels and this would give young people activity options.

"The more we can get kids active and engaged and build places where they want to be and want to hang out, the better we are as a community," Murdoch said.

"I really hope that the city can see past the initial price tag because I think the long-term benefits and the long term investment in our community are just so much greater than that initial pain with that price tag."

The meeting gets underway Thursday at 6:30 p.m.