Swim center will have on-going costs
To the editor:
Much has been said about the “construction cost” of building an Olympic Swimming pool complex in Cape Coral but little if anything has been discussed regarding the cost of maintaining the complex after it is built. Nor has anything been said about what the sources of monthly income needed to cover those costs will be. Who will pay to use the facility and how much will those charges be?
http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/San/public/%7B0B6978B8-8D4B-422F-A9EC-F10AC44A6B7C%7D/HANSARDSTATEAQUATICCENTREANDGPPLUSHEALTH/HANSARDSTATEAQUATICCENTREANDGPPLUSHEALTH/html/HANSARDSTATEAQUATICCENTREANDGPPLUSHEALTH_15.htm
If you go to the above link, you will see part of a conversation between members of an Australian State Aquatic Centre committee who were discussing the cost of maintaining an Olympic Swimming Pool complex in Melbourne, Australia.
Of particular interest is the statement made by one of the committee members who said in part:
“There is a push for a swimming pool in my electorate on the south coast. The reality is that they are a hole in the ground into which you put water. There is the initial cost, but the huge cost is the upkeep afterwards. The councils along the south coast have looked at putting in a pool. It will cost $17 million or $18 million to put in an aquatic centre, and it is a total dead loss. From what you are saying in answer to the questions from the member for Unley, it would appear that this will be another one of those. It is just a great big pool of water which will take a substantial taxpayer contribution each year to make it available for 1.5 million people to use basically, over and above the other pools. They are a hideous expense and there is no return. You say that you had the PPP perhaps in 2008. From what I know, I can understand anyone walking away from them, because there is not a quid in them. I do have some other questions as well.”
So said the Australian. Before we commit to spending more than $20 million that we do not have just to build this facility, we should see what the promoters’ planned budget will look like showing by line item expected revenues and expected expenses. I also question what the impact will be on the operation of our “Sun Splash” Water Park and our Yacht Club Swimming pool which together are already losing about a half a million per year.
I strongly urge all Cape Coral taxpayers to make your feelings known to the Council and to also write letters to the editor. I for one, will not be supporting it unless we get far more information which convinces me this will be a money maker for the city as promised.
Sal Grosso
Cape Coral