'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
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.