Beamish ‘disappointed’ over pool closure

This article was first published on the Coast Reporter on September 3, 2020 by Sophie Woodrooffe. All rights reserved.

Gibsons Mayor Bill Beamish said he was “very disappointed” with a decision by the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) to keep the pool in Gibsons closed until next year.

“I am one of those people who disagrees with not opening the Gibsons pool,” he said during a Sept. 1 regular council meeting, the first since the August break.

His comments came after Coun. David Croal, who sits on the regional district board, said he received letters from people unhappy with the ongoing closure.

Croal said the difficult decision was made to keep costs down as the SCRD looked at reopening other recreational facilities. The Sechelt and Pender Harbour aquatic centres are supposed to open this September. 

But Beamish suggested savings was a faulty rationale.

“I’m not sure money is always the driver, we’ll always have cost overruns,” he said.

Seniors in Gibsons aren’t able to access fitness programs normally available at the pool and not everyone can travel to Sechelt, said Beamish in his response. For that reason, he said, the pool should have remained open, “even it if it was on a limited basis, four hours a day for that purpose.”