'Council can only do so much': Victoria's Crystal Pool replacement project put on hold until 2023
Victoria’s Crystal Pool doesn’t have time to wait. It’s at the end of its service life, but those tasked with figuring out its future are putting plans on hold.
"It’s more typical of this council, don’t make a decision," said one Crystal Pool user on Wednesday.
Victoria city council is punting the contentious replacement project to the next mayor and council, which will be elected in October of 2022.
"Council can only do so much at once and we can only raise taxes so much," said Lisa Helps, Mayor of Victoria, on Wednesday.
The mayor says with a number of big projects underway, it comes down to making hard choices around priorities – and a new Central Library has been deemed the top priority, over the pool.
"The current library has been in its temporary space for almost 40 years and an opportunity has come up," said Helps. "There are lots of developers in the downtown (core) who are saying, 'Hey, I can build you a library as part of my new development.'"
The city will now spend $200,000 on a feasibility study to determine whether to redevelop or move the Central Branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library.
"I think we need the pool," said one library user on Wednesday. "The library seems perfectly fine to me and I love the location."
Almost $2 million has already been spent on the pool project. But despite years of debate, councillors haven’t come to a consensus on where to build it.
On Wednesday, a taxpayer watchdog group expressed its frustrations with the project.
"The sorts of feasibility, 'Let's feel this around and try to find new land,' happens frequently and taxpayers are the ones flipping the bill," said Kris Sims, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Victoria’s mayor insists the money hasn’t been wasted.
"That’s not money thrown away because the pool will be the pool wherever it goes," said Helps. "We’ve got the programming, we’ve got the layout, we’ve got the design and we have done the engagement."
"We know what the facility is going to look like, we just don’t exactly know where it will go at this point," she said.
The project will be picked up again in 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.