Victoria councilor Geoff Young says council seems to be leaning towards building a new facility to replace the aging Crystal Pool.
"It's pretty clear that we're leaning towards the idea of a new building," Young told C-FAX 1070's Al Ferraby. "It is the most expensive, but when you take into account the needs of 30-years in the future, when if we refurbished we'd be looking at rebuilding again, it's not wildly more expensive than the other options."
During their meeting Thursday councilors did not make a decision on the fate of the pool and fitness facility. Instead, they asked staff for more information.
Young says, whatever option they chose, all of the them are expensive. "We'll have to go to the voters pretty much for sure to get permission.” That means a counter petition process or a referendum. “So one of the reasons council asked for a lot of information was we have to convince people that this is the best solution or they won't vote for it."
Three options are on the table: renovating the existing building at a cost of about $40-million dollars, renovating and expanding the existing building for about $56-million, or building a whole new facility for $68-million.
Young says if a new building is chosen it would be built on the playing fields next to Crystal Pool.