The City of Flin Flon plans to hold a public meeting about the replacement for the former Flin Flon Aqua Centre, likely to provide new information and answer public questions about the project.
The meeting is scheduled for April 5 at 6:30 p.m. At the meeting, city leadership and executive staff are anticipated to provide updates on the project, including construction dates, planning information, financial details and fundraising.
The long-awaited project is the direct replacement for the former Flin Flon Aqua Centre, which was closed for good in 2020 and demolished. The new pool complex will be built on the former pool’s site, located off Ash Crescent and near Ross Creek, between the Northminster Memorial United Church and Hemlock Housing complex and the Aspen Grove apartment complex.
Construction on the pool’s foundation began last year and is expected to continue in the spring, with the City of Flin Flon aiming towards a possible 2025 opening date.
The City received about $5.8 million in grants from the Manitoba and federal governments in 2021 to cover some costs for the project, but the cost of the pool has increased in the years since. The City is now planning for costs to soar as high as $18 million for the project and is seeking out further grants to cover the remaining costs. The project also comes with a certain amount of money that needs to be funded from community contributions, like other large-scale projects with government funding such as the new emergency department at Flin Flon General Hospital.
The City has prepared a fundraising package for potential donors and associated prices for different parts of the project, including possibly selling the naming rights for the new pool. The meeting will come days after an anticipated donation to the project from the Flin Flon Rotary Club, expected to be announced later this week.
Before last fall’s provincial election, now-former Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson made a campaign trail promise of $10 million for the pool if her Progressive Conservative (PC) party was reelected. Stefanson’s proposed payoff never came to fruition as her party lost the election, leaving the City to keep searching for extra money.
