Construction of the new Four Seasons Pool began with a splash on Wednesday as local politicians and other dignitaries - along with local media - gathered at the site for a round of speeches and photos.
Expected to be open by late 2022, the project is budgeted to cost $35 million with a further $7 million going towards acquisition of the site at 7th Avenue between Dominion and Quebec Streets and demolition of both the old Days Inn motel that once occupied the site and the current Four Seasons Pool which is now closed.
Mayor Lyn Hall defended the decision to proceed with the work in spite of significant pressures the city is facing to make its budgetary ends meet. As well as replacing the old Four Seasons Pool across the street with a new "state of the art" amenity, Hall said it will help provide an economic wave during this COVID-induced downturn.
"Municipalities are going to play a huge role in the economic recovery and this is an example of what it looks like, along with the other $80-million-plus worth of projects that we've kept on our capital plan despite deferring about $25 million," Hall said.
Hall also noted that project's impact on the city's books won't begin until next year.
"We have timelines for when we would borrow from the municipal finance authority based on where we are in the project phases so it won't be all at once but you'll see some in 2021 and we'll be well into the development of the project then and we'll see more in 2022," he said.
Hall also made much of the $10 million grant the city secured from the federal and provincial governments, saying council held off on giving the green light to putting shovels in the ground until it knew for sure whether the city would qualify for the funding.
He also made sure to give a plug to federal Infrastructure and Communities Minister Catherine McKenna during a speech and a quote from provincial Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson was included in a city press release.
Whether that money will be put towards reducing the $35 million the city has committed to borrowing for the project or towards further upgrades at the pool is still to be decided by council, he said.
"It's state of the art," Hall said during his speech. "It'll be a facility that will provide recreation opportunities for decades to come."
Fraser-Fort George Regional District chair Art Kaehn expressed similar sentiments.
"Like many other recreational facilities in Prince George, we know the residents throughout the region as well as in northern B.C. are going to enjoy using this facility," Kaehn said after noting the FFGRD electoral districts contributed $750,000 to the project. "It will not only be a show piece but it will provide access and fun for folks for recreation, for swimming lessons, for therapeutic rehabilitation and just health and wellness."
Lheidli T'enneh Dayi Clay Pountney said the pool will benefit everybody.
"This is really going to help our community," he said.
Chris Gobbi, who chairs the city's accessibility committee said the pool "raised the bar" on that aspect.
Features highlighted by Gobbi included barrier-free change rooms with built-in ceiling lifts, pool pods for wheelchair users and people with reduced mobility, shallow beach-style entry, ramped access to the hot tub and accessible parking in excess of the legal requirement at the front entrance.
The main pool will be 25-metres long and hold six lanes. There will also be a four-lane 25-metre teaching pool, a large waterslide with run-off lane, a sauna and steam room and rooms for lessons and training.
It will be connected to the city's downtown renewable energy system which provides heat sourced from wood waste at Lakeland Mills. The system will kick out 95 per cent less greenhouse gas than if it was heated by natural gas.
Heavy equipment was soon back in operation at the site once the event had ended.
Those who voted in a 2017 referendum were 62.5-per-cent in favour of borrowing up to $35 million for the project.
