The COVID induced closure of the aquatic centre at the Humboldt Uniplex is causing concern for some residents who rely on the facility for fitness and rehabilitation. A petition with around 50 signatures was presented to the City of Humboldt in the hopes of having Council and Community and Leisure Services reconsider the decision. The pool has been closed since December 25.

Glenda Lees appeared at a special executive meeting of Council on January 11. In her presentation, Lees outlined the reasons for the request to reopen, given the current health guidelines have not mandated the aquatic centre’s closure. Lees says that the pool and its facilities provide residents like her relief from chronic pain and symptoms of arthritis and other mobility limiting conditions.

“Our pool was closed approximately 5 1/2 months in 2020 and we were told that it would not close this January because the maintenance had already been finished, so it was a shock and disappointment when we heard via discover Humboldt news on December 16 that the pool would close on Dec. 24,” Lees said in her statement to Council. “When we heard this we started a petition, and were able to quickly gather about fifty-some names and forward these to you and I know you had some other calls and submissions, but we did not have enough time to clearly voice our concerns with only 8 days notice.”

Lees listed the other groups impacted by the decision to close the pool including aquasize and lane swim groups, competitive youth swimmers, and young learners. Lees pointed out the disparity between swimmers and skaters who have been afforded the opportunity to use the rink with subsidized rates. She encouraged those in charge to contact the provincial government to inquire about relaxing guidelines and to find creative means to allow the pool to generate funds.

Following its deliberations with council, Community and Leisure Service responded through prepared responses to Discover Humboldt’s questions. Community and Leisure Services Director Mike Ulriksen stated that during the shutdown, set to be reviewed at the end of the month, annual maintenance work was performed, accounting for some of the downtime. However, limitations placed on the operation of the centre was a major factor.

“The primary factors were the new restrictions that came into effect in late November and the decreasing revenue that we were able to generate. In reviewing how we were going to meet these challenges the timing was good, as our staff and community has become accustomed to a January shutdown. While we had planned not to shut down in January this year due to the extended closure in the summer of 2020, it provided us with that reset that we needed, allowed us to undertake some of our annual maintenance and focus on what the coming weeks and months might look like.”