Renee Goldup posted on December 23, 2009 09:59
Te Anau is home to the largest lake in the South Island and the second largest in New Zealand but for a child who doesn’t know how to swim this beautiful commodity has the potential for disaster.
Fiona McDonald, president of the Fiordland Swim Club said the Fiordland Community Swimming Pool is vital to the community as a resource for teaching children to swim. “If it was to close, the swim club would cease to exist and with a huge lake in the region, it would be hugely detrimental to the community.”
The importance of providing swimming facilities in the community has been highlighted by a Venture-Southland initiated audit. The Fiordland Community Swimming Pool is in the grounds of Fiordland College, Te Anau. It is the only 25 metre pool in the isolated Te Anau basin and the only one within a two hour drive suitable for training and for hosting competitions. It is run by a non-profit incorporated society with most outside assistance provided by the College Board. Serving a community of over 3,000 people plus summer visitors, it is well used.
The audit found it to be in good condition and well managed, providing the community and particularly school aged children with above average opportunities to learn swimming and water safety skills. But the audit saw problems ahead with costs unless a projected maintenance program was implemented and a cheaper heating alternative found.
At the time of the audit in December 2007 the auditors noted concerns about disagreement surrounding the contributions and responsibilities of respective stakeholders and also that the Te Anau Community Board had no involvement with the pool. This left the Pool Society faced with the responsibility of operating the pool as well as fundraising for the full operating costs. The lack of financial commitment from the stakeholders also affected the Society’s ability to leverage public funding. The audit recommended that key stakeholders meet annually and co-operate actively in management.
The audit recommendations were accepted and the Pool Society, the College Board and the Te Anau Community Board have since formed a working party with the aim of securing the viability of the facility. Both the school and the Community Board are now making an annual contribution enabling the Pool Society to focus on the much needed upgrade.
Venture Southland Community Development staff have assisted the Pool Society with planning and fundraising for the upgrade and the pool has since been re-clad and new pool covers and rollers installed – a project totaling $102,000. The next step will be to investigate opportunities for installing hot water heating.
Venture Southland Community Development Planner Diana Zadravec said the Fiordland Pool was a good example of a community working together to secure the future of a key facility. “We should not take local swimming pools for granted. They are now a luxury. Once they close down, it would be very hard to re-open them,” she said.
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