Gasp for help – pool committee seeks public support

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Gasp for help – pool committee seeks public support

FOSTER swimming pool’s committee is calling for the local community to get behind the pool this summer as it faces review of its viability by South Gippsland Shire Council.

Pool people: Isabella Thorpe, Steven Armstrong and Matilda Thorpe enjoy the Foster Swimming Pool under the watchful eye of life guard Georgia Wake.

Pool people: Isabella Thorpe, Steven Armstrong and Matilda Thorpe enjoy the Foster Swimming Pool under the watchful eye of life guard Georgia Wake.

Foster is the only pool of six in the shire under review because of lower attendances. The pool did not reach the required number of visits of 8298 in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. That required number is calculated by council based on average attendances of the past five seasons.
Pool section 86 committee president Lisa Barham-Lomax said the community needs to support the pool.
“We are holding special events and running surveys to ask the community what they think of the pool and it all really is to input into the review process that council is running,” she said.
“(Utilisation is low) because we have had a couple of really crumby summers. We have also had some good ones but the crumby ones have really lowered our average.”
The committee has already pleaded its case to council as to why the pool should stay open.
“We have already reported to council in October saying why we think the pool shouldn’t be closed,” Ms Barham-Lomax said.
“Relative to some of the other pools, Foster operates really quite efficiently, there are low costs and the shell of the pool is in really good condition unlike some others.”
The committee has also highlighted that visits per Foster resident are at 4.9 per person, while other pools are at around 3.4 to 3.6.
The committee also plans to better market the pool.
Attendance has increased over the past three summers from 4000 in 2010-11, roughly 5900 in 2011-12 and 6180 in 2012-13.
One of the pool’s duty managers Max Rounds said the pool was a fantastic facility.
“It has a great community feel and it brings everyone together,” he said.
Ms Barham-Lomax believes the review will be completed in April.

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Posted by on Jan 14 2014. Filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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