Construction on the new Flin Flon Aqua Centre is continuing, with the City giving early approval to a plan to cover the rest of its construction costs.
City council gave first reading June 18 to a bylaw that, if passed, would authorize the City to borrow the money needed to build the Flin Flon Aqua Centre project. That bylaw received second reading July 2 and was approved for a future third reading at a later date, after which it would be fully authorized.
The current debenture schedule would see the City borrow $7.45 million to build the pool at a nine per cent interest rate, paying a debenture for 20 years starting in 2027. The plan will see the City pay a total of $816,121 in each of those years - factoring in interest payments, the City will pay over $16.3 million over the course of the 20 scheduled years.
The $7.45 million figure is what, according to most recent City estimates, still needs to come to finish building the pool. The project received $3.46 million from the federal government and $2.89 million from the provincial government in 2021 through the joint Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) grant. The remainder of the cost will be covered by the City, including by donations. Those donations, classified officially as "community contributions", are factored into plans for major projects such as the Flin Flon General Hospital emergency department - that was also funded in part by community contributions.
The City can still change that plan if it receives grants or donations for the new pool project.
The debenture schedule was presented both at the City’s unveiling of its annual budget in May and in a public meeting on the project in April. No changes to the schedule have been made following its unveiling and bylaws around the budget each passed third and final reading without objection last month and were approved.
As of last week, work on pouring the foundation of both the building’s lobby, multipurpose room and change room areas had begun, as well as much of the work on the pool basin itself.
The City’s plan for the Aqua Centre replacement is to build a facility including a four-lap pool with a zero-point access entry ramp on one side for people with mobility issues is the centrepiece, along with a smaller leisure pool running as shallow as four inches, with a small lazy river section. A long bench will run along the outside of the pool to serve as seating or a place to put personal items.
According to most recent estimates, most of the pool’s construction is slated to take place this year, with a possible opening date of summer 2025.
As of June 18, the walls of the basin - the area where the pool itself will be located - had been mostly poured or placed, with some work remaining on the bottom. The area with the lobby and change rooms had been flattened, with part of the foundation built and rebar laid down for another round of pours. A wooden walkway setup has been built to allow basin access from ground level.
“They’re right on schedule,” said councillor Alison Dallas-Funk at the June 18 city council meeting, followed by applause by three members of the public at the meeting - each members of the fundraising committee for the project.
“They’ve poured lots of concrete,” said councillor Bill Hanson, who leads the City’s engineering services committee.
“From what I’ve seen, the basement part has been poured and they were working to setting up the basin,” said Mayor George Fontaine.
“Every now and then, my wife and I drive by and take a look, to see the differences there are since the last time we’ve been by.”
Construction crews contracted for the project have been working on a 10-day on, four-day off schedule while pouring the concrete.
