Greater Vernon seeking consultants for n

Greater Vernon seeking consultants for new aquatic center

May 9, 2019 | 4:22 PM

Greater Vernon is on the hunt for a consultant to take on the proposed aquatic center.

Members of Greater Vernon Recreation appeared before the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee on Wednesday to talk about their upcoming Request for Proposal for a consultant to conduct a facility feasibility study.

According to the RFP, Greater Vernon Recreation is looking for a consultant to engage with the community in determining the size of the new active living center and some other amenities the public would like to see in the facility.

The consultant would also be responsible for coming up with the user fees for the facility, and finding out how much the community could afford in terms of tax increases.

A walking track, weight room, and gymnasium are some of the ideas staff has listed as needs in the Greater Vernon Recreation Master plan.

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During the meeting, Doug Ross, Director of Recreation told the committee that an additional $50,000 is needed to find the right consultant.

“Because of the scope of work for this and the potential value of the facilities that we are looking at, we wanted to make sure that we have enough funding to attract a real qualified consultant,” said Ross.

$100,000 is currently earmarked for the consultant who is awarded the project.

Greater Vernon Recreation will appear before Vernon City Council to make the request.

As for location, the new center will most likely be located at the old Kin Race Track.

” One of the things we ended up discussing with Coldstream is identifying Kin Park as a possible location for the facilities, but that the consultant should also comment on other opportunities, other locations that may be available,” said Ross.

The future of the current aquatic center.

Vernon Recreation says the future of the current aquatic center will be up to the public to decide during the consultation process.

Staff are recommending to keep the current facility, but renovate the pool so that it is more geared towards programs for seniors and young children.

“Right now we keep the temperature turned down so that we can accommodate the Kokanees and lane swimmers, they like it cooler, but the general public likes it warmer. So if we were to turn up the temperature, then we could cater more towards seniors, people doing therapy, preschoolers, things like that,” said Ross.

The consultant would be responsible for identifying the renovations that need to take place in order to make the pool more appealing to visitors.

They would also need to consult with the public to find out if two pools is something that Greater Vernon taxpayers would be willing to fund.

Ross said the current pool is at overcapacity, and notes that other similar sized cities have been able to support two pools.

” There’s certain communities our size that do accommodate more than one pool, and you have to also consider that we are looking into five years in the future, and then we have to be able to develop something that will serve the community for years going forward,” he said.

The Request for Proposals opens on May 14.

The project is expected to be awarded to a consultant on June 25, 2019.