Fredericton Deputy Mayor Kate Rogers says the city is exploring other partnership options for building a new pool after talks with the University of New Brunswick hit a standstill.
“We had made a commitment as a city to sort of take the leadership role in sort of gathering partners interested in investing a pool, so we were pursuing a partnership with UNB, but have decided now to open that up and just seek others,” Rogers said.
Rogers said there were no “firm deals” being discussed with UNB.
READ MORE: Senior swimmers in Fredericton ask city to take the lead on pool problem
She said the city was looking at a 60 per cent to 40 per cent split on the community funding portion of the pool, but said the university was looking more at 80 per cent community use.
“We were both throwing out numbers, and I think we felt that we were just too far apart,” Rogers said. “Neither party knew if we could get close enough to what we were each interested in.”
“My sense has always been that if there is a pool on campus, that clearly the university should use it as a recruitment tool,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the city isn’t “shutting the door” to UNB, simply opening the door to other partners.
READ MORE: N.B. mayor says ‘take the politics out of pool’ as closure of Fredericton pool nears
She said the city is looking for groups to self-identify who might be interested.
“I think we’re interested in them being involved, it will depend on the number of other partners,” Rogers said.
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She said that could mean anything from dollars to an advisory role for user groups, and said things will unfold as they see who else is coming to the table.
Rogers said coming up with a solution is a priority and said staff are working hard on the file doing their best to move it forward as quickly as possible.
User groups concerned over pool closure and next steps
Rogers said the city is hoping UNB will decide to extend the life of the pool on campus, past the fall 2018 decommissioning date, but said ultimately, that’s the university’s decision.
Fredericton Aquanauts Swim Team spokesperson Chris Ramsey told Global News the group is “disappointed” that talks between the city and university have slowed down.
“I know the door is still open, but we’re disappointed and frankly, we’re confused. We don’t really understand what’s happened here. I think that’s the reaction in the community right now,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said he would have liked to see both parties “work through the differences.”
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He said the most critical issue for the community is keeping Sir Max Aitken Pool open long enough to see a new facility.
Ramsey told Global News no matter who the city partners with, the current pool shutting down leaves children, seniors and therapy groups without a home.
He said in the group’s opinion, the city has an obligation to the community, as does the university and the province to keep the pool open longer.
READ MORE: UNB Fredericton’s Sir Max Aitken Pool, Lady Beaverbrook Gym to close in 2018
University Response
University of New Brunswick vice-president academic George MacLean said he understands the positions that user groups are now in.
MacLean said their decision to keep the Sir Max Aiken Pool open past the fall 2018 decommissioning date was related to the possibility of having a new facility on campus.
“We do recognize that even though our mission is an academic one, and it is primarily to our university community, there’s a great deal of reliance on that facility,” MacLean said. “If the right financial opportunity were made available to us, the university would consider an amendment to our funding arrangement which now requires us to remove and decommission that pool.”
He said the university wanted to be flexible and rather than locking in on a single number, MacLean said they thought they could negotiate something that was somewhere in between.
READ MORE: Fredericton swim club continues plea for new pool, highlights importance of programs
MacLean said it’s imperative that the public is aware that the city and university were communicating and working to try to build a partnership. He said both parties had other No. 1 overall priorities coming into the negotiations.
He said UNB is continuing to put out there the opportunity to negotiate an arrangement that is acceptable to both sides.
Rogers said city council is looking at other city-owned properties as potential sites for a new pool to reduce the cost of the project.