After Vernon voters agreed to borrow up to $121-million for a new recreation centre this fall, the debate is heating up about the details of the design.
A petition calling for more family-friendly amenities in the pool area of the Active Living Centre is quickly gaining traction online.
The petition already had over 1,600 signatures three days after it was posted and calls for the city to consider items for young people like “exciting” slides, a FlowRider surf machine, and a wave pool.
The petition argues the current conceptual design “has little for older children and youth who are not into competitive sports.”
Vernon resident Corey Shadlock is among those who signed the petition.
“I feel like right now there is nothing geared for any type of young generation,” Shadlock said.
Shadlock said the small slide in the leisure pool conceptual design images looks like “a five-foot slide going into a big square of nothing.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense for me. I think they need to incorporate a lot more fun. It’s a community activity centre… It should be multi-generational.”
Vernon’s mayor admits the city was careful with the conceptual designs to make sure it would be able to deliver.
Now that the borrowing referendum has passed, a formal design process and more public consultations are planned in 2023.
“All those extra amenities that will come along, that is what we will be talking about in 2023,” said Mayor Victor Cumming.
“Does it need to be able to have those? Absolutely! Our focus since the beginning has always been family, leisure, fun.”
The city is expecting lots of public input as the design is formalized next year. On Shadlock’s wishlist is a diving platform for those involved in skiing, snowboarding, and gymnastics to use for air awareness training.
What isn’t expected to change in the formal design is that of the three planned pools themselves. What is in the plans is a 50 m pool, a leisure pool with a beach entrance, and a smaller, warmer pool for mixed-use.
That means a full wave pool is likely not in the cards but a wave-creating ball is possible.
“A number of things really become possible in the final design and we are going to be looking very carefully at how can we integrate these at the price point we are committed to.”
Asked what he would say to those who would like to see a full wave pool, Vernon’s mayor emphasized that the Active Living Centre pool needs to be versatile.
The Active Living Centre and the associated new pool are not expected to be finished till 2026.