One Moncton councillor says he was aware of east end pool depth

One Moncton city councillor says he was aware the new east end pool would be a metre deep, while seven others say they didn't know or don't recall being told before approving construction.

Coun. Blair Lawrence told CBC in an email he knew the specifications of the pool when he cast a vote in favour of building it at a July 16 council meeting.  

"Safer for all and deep enough for anyone to swim in," Lawrence wrote. He did not elaborate on how he knew and would not be interviewed.

Now multiple councillors want to revisit the pool plans at a committee meeting Monday at 1 p.m.

Who knew what about the project became an issue last week when Cathy Rogers, the provincial finance minister, said she wouldn't have pushed the province to put $500,000 into the project if she knew it would be a "wading pool."

The developments raise questions about how so many people approved a $2.3-million outdoor pool while apparently not knowing the details of the project or how it would part from traditional notions of a swimming pool.

Several councillors pointed to others, including staff, as the reason they didn't know the depth of the pool.

"I am not, as a city councillor, an expert in the depths of swimming pools," said Paulette Thériault. She was surprised the project wasn't explained in more detail.

"These decisions are being made without giving us all the information," she said.

That old pool included a shallow end about one metre in depth, a 1.5 metre-deep end and a separate diving tank 4.3 metres deep.

Coun. Shawn Crossman moved the original motion years ago to replace the pool, minus the diving tank.

"At no point at any discussion with council did staff bring back the idea of a one-metre pool," Crossman said. 

Asked who did know, he pointed to city staff.

​"They knew," Crossman said. "It was just never given to council."

Isabelle LeBlanc, Moncton's director of communications, said specifications for the pool, including depth, were included in documents and presentations provided to council.

"Council has been part of discussions throughout," she said. "We had the designer, the architect, come in and talk to council and it was part of the tender package."

Coun. Paul Pellerin said he checked documents he was provided — and didn't see the depth noted.

A staff report to city council July 16 about the east end pool does not mention the depth of the pool. The lone rendering included in the package is a site plan and does not indicate the pool's depth.

City councillors, including Charles Leger, said they don't routinely receive copies of tender documents, which include detailed architectural drawings. Several said they did not specifically seek out the east end pool tender documents.

CBC reviewed the 139 pages of tender documents issued June 1 that show a pool without a deep end.

When Gordon Krausharr, the owner of Northland Design Studio Inc., presented an overview of the east end pool project to council on Nov. 20, 2017, he didn't mention whether the pool would have a deep end.

"The original pool was simply a concrete pool with a deep end and then there was a separate deep-diving tank. In discussions with the staff, we've decided that we don't need the deep-diving tank and that the pool, for accessibility for use by younger users, should incorporate what's commonly called a beach entry or a zero entry area so you can walk down a long ramp into the water," Krausharr said, moving on to discuss what would be built around the edges of the pool.

The level of detail presented to council was different when Jocelyn Cohoon, director of leisure services for the city, described the plans for Centennial Beach at a June 18 meeting.

She went into detail about the pool's depth, describing a portion from 0.6 metres to 1.2 metres deep as a "wading pool," and the portion from 1.2 to 1.5 metres in depth as a "standard pool."

When it came to the east end pool, much of the discussion at council meetings has focused on its location and cost.

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Coun. Robert McKee in an email to CBC said council met in February to discuss the pool, but the design was only about half complete at that time.

"More attention was given to some features that were added to the design. I do not recall talking about a 1 metre deep pool," McKee wrote.

"We had even talked about the pool including lane lines, so I think we all assumed it would be deep enough for that purpose."

Over and over, the seven councillors have said their belief was that the new pool would be a "replacement" for the one closed five years ago.

Crossman wants council to "immediately" revisit the plans. McKee and Pellerin also want the design revisited. 

Pellerin also said any changes at this stage could be costly. 

It's also unclear exactly what the province knew.

"Typically, all of the specifications, the tender document, would have gone to the province before being issued," LeBlanc said Thursday when asked if the city provided details about the pool's depth when seeking funds.

However, Rogers said Friday that provincial officials were not informed of the proposed depth of the pool.

"Everyone had every reason to believe this was a real swimming pool," Rogers said.

The provincial funding was provided through the Regional Development Corporation, which did not provide an interview about what the city provided when seeking funds.

Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold was not available for an interview Friday.

On Friday, LeBlanc said people who could answer detailed questions about what council was told and when were away on vacation.