COLD LAKE – The City of Cold Lake is moving ahead on a design for a proposed aquatic centre.
The concept development and design will begin this spring and summer on a proposed aquatics centre to be built at the energy centre.
City council allocated $150,000 in the 2021 capital budget to commence with the planning and design process, which will also include a stakeholder consultation and opportunities for residents to provide their input and feedback.
“A pool and aquatics centre is something that has been on our wish list for many years and it’s something the people of Cold Lake have told us that they want in their community,” said Mayor Craig Copeland in a press release. “This seed money allows us to bring in design and construction professionals and really come up with a plan for what this facility could be.”
City administration and council members have toured several aquatics centres in municipalities across the province to observe different design trends and amenities and to better understand operational and maintenance consideration and service outage trends.
The municipality expects to appoint an architect in the coming months to begin the engineering work, following the necessary procurement process.
“The Energy Centre was designed and built from day one with the idea that it could be expanded upon,” explained CAO Kevin Nagoya. “We’ve already seen two phases of expansion, which added the two arenas, the climbing wall, lounge and other amenities. Since the inception of the Energy Centre Master Plan, we’ve known that a pool and other amenities such as a performing arts theatre, would likely be added at some point in the future, so the footprint of the building and the wide concourses were designed with that in mind.”
The focused design and planning process will provide the city with a more detailed cost breakdown for the project, construction timelines, and operational considerations. The next council, which will be elected in the fall, will then weigh the project against other funding priorities and determine when it will move forward to the construction phase.
“This is a very exciting project and it’s something we are constantly hearing from our residents,” Copeland said. “This initial design process is a great first step, and it will give us a roadmap we can hand off to the next Council term to show what is possible, so they can make the best decision for the people of this community.”
