The results from the Summerland Recreation Centre referendum are in, and residents have said no to a proposal for the district to borrow $50 million, plus interest, to fund a new facility.
A total of 4,625 ballots were cast – 1,943 were in favour, while 2,682 voted against the loan, according to the unofficial tally — so residents in the South Okanagan won’t be seeing their aging aquatic and fitness centre replaced anytime soon.
Prior to the vote, the District of Summerland offered tours of their current facility to ensure residents were able to make informed decisions based on the current state of the building. If the loan had been approved, it would have had a term of no more than 30 years.
From a leaky roof to outdated equipment, there are numerous major issues with the existing facility. According to Summerland staff, the 47-year-old rec centre, built in 1976, is way past its useful life and requires a significant investment to fix it. Otherwise, it will eventually be decommissioned.
“We conducted a 2018 condition assessment of the building and from that assessment, we learned that all aspects of this facility are at end of life,” said Summerland Community Services director Lori Mullin.
“So, we’re looking at our mechanical, our structural systems… and so from that we recognize that we needed to create a plan really quickly on what we were going to do for the future this facility.”
The District of Summerland says the results from the vote will be confirmed no later than 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
“The unofficial results are based on the ballot accounts prepared from each voting opportunity and are subject to the determination of official referendum results by the Chief Election Officer,” the District of Summerland said in a media release.
“The District of Summerland thanks everyone for their participation.”
Had the referendum gone through, the new facility, which was targeted to be completed in 2026, would have featured:
- Six-lane, 25-metre lap pool, leisure pool, hot tub, steam or sauna room
- Modern change rooms including fully accessible and family/universal change spaces
- Fitness Centre
- Fitness/activity multi-purpose room
- Youth/family multi-purpose room
- Lobby, pool viewing, reception, administration offices
- Energy efficient construction to a LEED Silver standard
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