Kamloops council eyes major renovation for Canada Games pool

Nov 21, 2017 | 3:17 PM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops will hire a consultant to help shape how a major renovation of the Canada Games Aquatic Centre will play out.

In a report to council, the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department says the roof and wall “envelope” will need to be replaced in the near future, and replacement of the pool’s mechanical systems will happen as well.

Director Byron McCorkell told council it will end up being a major project that will likely result in a lengthy shutdown of the pool.

“We’re talking about taking all the siding off of the side of the building, taking the top off the building, redoing all that and at the same time, we’ve got the mechanical. The boilers in the building are about as big as this room (council chambers),” said McCorkell.

“So we’re looking to do something different there which may result in some design changes. That’s part of the whole performance discussion. Maybe there are some different technologies we can encorporate, maybe there’s solar, maybe there’s solar hot water. There are a whole number of things that are able to be talked about.”

Council has already budgeted $500,000 for design and consulting services.

McCorkell says the consultant will help direct the process.

“We know this project is big. We know it’s going to take a lot of coordination on our part to ensure that it’s done effectively. We also know that, when I say ‘big,’ it’s going to be more than a month,” he said.

Mayor Ken Christian says if the city wants to get the project right, it should have as much information as possible up front.

“I think that’s the very purpose of asking for an in-depth… kind of estimate so that we have better information on that to provide to the public,” said Christian.