Bold new plan for Mount hot pools

A $9 million plan to stem the plunging popularity of the Mount Hot Pools goes public this week.
Admissions to the complex at the foot of Mauao have dropped nearly 20 per cent during the past 12 months to reach 255,000 a year.
The bold plan to attract families back to an expanded Mount Maunganui Hot Salt Water Pools and a new health and wellness centre will go on display in the downtown Library Arcade from Thursday.
The complex has never regained the peak of popularity it enjoyed six years ago when it attracted 387,000 bathers _ before the era of cheap swims ended in 2003 and council hiked admission charges 80 per cent.
Tauranga City Council now wants public feedback on its latest concept in which the hot pools will be substantially upgraded by the addition of a children's and toddlers' freshwater pool area, a new raised spa, and a new therapy pool.
But with council vowing not to increase public admission prices beyond inflation, the viability of the plan rests on the proposed health spa's high-paying customers and getting more families to the Hot Pools.
Council business support manager Tania Delahunty said public feedback on the concept would be considered by the council in February when a decision was expected on whether the upgrade stayed in the 10-year capital works plan or was dropped.
Council is currently split on the issue, with Mayor Stuart Crosby's casting vote needed on August 26 to keep the project alive.
February's meeting would decide whether there was a mandate to take the next steps: ``Council needs to get past the first hurdle _ will it stay in or go out?' If council backed the concept and the business plan showed it was financially self-supporting, then the project would go through two further rounds of public submissions _ the resource consent process and the 2009-19 plan.
Ms Delahunty said Tauranga City Aquatics was working hard to understand the drop in patronage. Part of the reason was that the facility was tired and needed a revamp.
The downward trend worried council because the hot pools ran at a surplus of about $520,000 _ helping fund the rest of the city's swimming pools.
Ironically, the potential for the project to succeed has raised concerns that it would aggravate the Mount's parking and traffic problems over the summer holidays. Carparking issues would be dealt with as part of the resource consent application.
Along with various council transportation initiatives, including the summer holidays park 'n ride bus scheme to the Mount, Ms Delahunty said negotiations had started with developers on leased parking, although there were limitations on what could be achieved.
Another partial remedy was to enlarge and reconfigure the existing Hot Pools carpark in Adams Ave once the Beachside Holiday Park shifted its office closer to the surf club. With innovative thinking and Tauranga City Aquatics working in with council, there were no resource consent issues that could not be resolved, she said.
Previous meetings with stakeholders and interest groups to identify stumbling blocks had resulted in the design being substantially altered to something that looked more natural and less dominant.
The upstairs wellness area lost its cafe and multi-purpose room, leaving the public cafe downstairs.
The design concept allowed for either the wellness centre to be built above a ground floor Mauao cultural interpretation centre and theatrette, or to drop plans for the interpretation centre and theatrette and have the wellness centre on the ground floor.
The design will go out as a roadshow to venues such as the Greerton Community Centre and Papamoa Library. People could also view the project and make their submissions online by going to the council's website, www.tauranga.govt.nz.