“It will be fairly quick because if we want to get this delivered, we’ll have to get to tender pretty soon,” Thompson said.
She said an upgraded and refurbished pool would be ready for next summer “if we get all our ducks in a row”.
The facility’s springboard was removed before the 2024-25 season for safety reasons.
Thompson said a recommendation from compliance body Poolsafe was for a pool depth of 3.4m for a springboard.
While it was a fun thing to have, the Whanganui East Pool was not deep enough, she said.
Councillor Rob Vinsen asked if learn-to-swim classes would be possible at the pool once it was refurbished.
Whanganui East was too cold and a better operating model was in place at Splash Centre, Thompson said.
The learn-to-swim pool at the Splash was 33C and lifting the Whanganui East pool to that temperature would cost a lot of money, with the heat disappearing at night, she said.
“Clubs come to us a lot around rowing and waka ama, and it’s a really great space to do water education,” Thompson said.
“It would be great to see clubs doing their summer camps in an outdoor facility and I think there is a real opportunity to attract those groups.”
In August, council chief executive David Langford said the council would get input from contractors and suppliers “to really firm up the price to do the work”, and it would work with citizens’ assembly participants.
Assembly member Brad Fisher told the Chronicle he always assumed the work would begin next year.
Fisher was unsure what further input the assembly would have, “but that was never ring-fenced”.
“We haven’t had any formal contact around that side of things, but we’ve been verbally told by people like [councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay and Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe] that we would have input moving forward,” he said.
Thompson’s report to the committee said seasonal planning for Whanganui East had started.
“Confidence in operational readiness is high, with an experienced team looking to return to deliver services at the facility.
“Planning will provide clear opening and closing dates in advance of the season.”
Thompson told the committee that staff hoped “for a warmer and brighter summer season than the previous one”.
Last summer, the pool was open from December 19 to February 5, with heavy rain and wind affecting numbers.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
