A group of unhappy swimmers is planning to protest outside Lord Byng Pool Wednesday morning (July 4), wearing nothing but their bathing suits.
That's slightly more modest than their birthday suits, but I still hope the weather holds out for them.
I wrote in this space last week about a group of residents who frequent the pool, located in West Point Grey, concerned about a two-month closure this summer. The pool was scheduled to close for at least four weeks due to scheduled maintenance, but the park board decided to extend that closure for the remainder of the summer to save money during what it describes as a slow time of the year.
Tom Perry, "spokeswimmer" for the group, doesn't buy it.
Perry is skeptical about the amount of maintenance work the pool needs. He notes as of June 27, four days before the pool was to close, lifeguard staff were unaware of any scheduled major repairs.
Perry said Lord Byng is busy year-round. He's also discovered the pool is likely rented out for private functions for one week in July and the final week of August. "This begins to make me wonder who is telling the truth," Perry said.
In response to his inquiries, Perry received a letter from the board's director of recreation, Thomas Soulliere, who confirmed the pool could be rented out for at least one private function this summer.
Soulliere wrote: "In regards to your question about rentals, I can confirm that we are regularly contacted by organizations interested in renting a pool facility for a special event or production. It is not unusual to use the shoulder periods (beginning/end) of a closure to accommodate such groups, as these opportunities interfere less with the typical programming schedules. Our staff were approached by two local arts groups, each requesting a couple of days to rent portions of the facility. We have not approved the application for the start of the closure period, but are considering the latter, which would occur during the re-commissioning phase just prior to re-opening the facility. The group would be responsible for all associated costs and a rental fee."
As for the lengthy closure due to maintenance needs, Soulliere's email says an extended closure through the summer was considered by the board to be opportunity to address additional maintenance items, such as tile repair and re-grouting of the pool basin, which requires significant "downtime."
"This period also allows us to redeploy the facility staff for the balance of the season, thereby reducing operating costs," Soulliere wrote.
His email noted the entire period of the closure is not required for the maintenance work. "However, given that we have the ability to offer aquatic services in other locations for the remainder of the summer season, we concluded that the facility could remain closed until the start of the fall season in early September," Soulliere wrote.
Perry says at least 400 people have signed a petition protesting the closure. He adds many swimmers he's spoken to would be willing to pay a higher fee for monthly or annual passes if they could get more consistent use of the pool, which was also closed for weeks due to maintenance in 2011.
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