Pahīatua swimming baths could be open in the New Year

The Pahīatua Swimming Baths need repairs before they can be reopened for the summer.

It’s hoped Pahīatua’s swimming baths will be open this summer, but timing will be dependent on some necessary repairs.

Last month, members of the Bush Aquatic Trust spoke at Tararua District Council’s Community Development and Wellbeing committee presenting a range of options for swimming in summer.

Pahīatua’s swimming baths needed repairs but if it was decided not to reopen them, there could be options of using Tararua College pool, or pools at Mangatainoka School or Woodville.

However, there were various challenges with those options, among which was that young children learning to swim would be unable to use the college pool as there was no shallow end.

Programmes and projects manager Mike Dunn tabled a report for the Infrastructure, Climate Change and Emergency Management committee and spoke on the report in the meeting earlier this month.

He said he had met with staff on the site of the pool and walked around to see what needed to be done.

“The current state is that they do have some stuff that is not compliant with the New Zealand standards for swimming pools.”

That work, plus repairs and resealing, would have to be remediated and work would have to get underway so he could look towards reopening the pool.

The cost of the remediation was likely to be around $30,000 and Dunn was in communication with someone who would be able to provide an updated quote and a date when the work could be expected to be done.

Councillor Scott Gilmore said there had been discussions around a cost of $70,000 and was concerned about spending money on a pool that would not be needed in a couple of years, once the new pool was built.

Councillor Alison Franklin said she had initially been against spending money on the pool, but had now seen the whole picture and understands the community need.

She said while other options had been presented, there were challenges.

“The college pool is too deep for learners to use, and it’s freezing cold.”

There was also Mangatainoka Primary School pool, but there would be issues with transporting children to and from schools.

Franklin said there was a concern about not having anywhere for children to swim, particularly for learn-to-swim programmes, but also for recreational swimming through the summer.

“We’ve got to have the temporary fix, no matter how long it is for,” she said.

Dunn clarified the initial cost was going to be $70,000 but noted some things didn’t need to be done immediately.

“We have made sure that that has been a priority, of doing only what is actually required.”

In terms of resealing, they were targeting just the cracks.

“The pool’s empty at this stage, so we can just walk through and identify them and reseal these as needed.”

Operational costs for the season were already in the budget.

Dunn said resealing was also in last year’s budget and would be put forward as a carry-forward request.

Chief executive Bryan Nicholson said there might be some slight delays but expected the pool would be open in the New Year.