MOUNT FOREST – While some residents remain determined to restore the old Mount Forest Lion Roy Grant outdoor pool to its former glory, township staff have other plans.
To be discussed at a Wellington North council meeting on Monday evening, a new report is recommending council direct staff to protect the future expansion of the Mount Forest waterworks facility by installing a new water tower at the site of the existing Mount Forest Lion Roy Grant Pool on Parkside Drive.
According to staff, the intent is to install an elevated tank water tower on the former pool site in approximately 30 years when the existing standpipe has come to the end of its service life "to accommodate for future growth."
Anticipated to cost $200,000 and included in the 2024 capital budget, the township previously approved decommissioning and rehabilitating the pool in April 2023 after using the location for the new pool was determined to not be possible "given the additional funds required to bring the site up to standard."
Public Health closed the pool in June 2022 after a failed inspection.
The report said a request for tenders has been drafted to demolish and remove the bathhouse, concrete in-ground pool and equipment and recommends the tendering period be reduced to three weeks to ensure site restoration occurs by late fall 2024.
As a part of the decommissioning process, all solid steel panel fencing is proposed to be removed except along the pool's westerly side where it will be sandblasted and repainted for a potential location for a future community mural.
While an existing horse and buggy tie stall will remain on Grant Street, it will be modified to allow a walking path along the future community mural for pedestrians to access the parkland from Grant Street.
Staff discussed creating a new municipal parking lot but said a parking lot is not permitted within 100 metres of a water source.
The chain link fencing at the existing waterworks site is proposed to be extended to provide additional room for operation and maintenance as maintenance vehicles currently back into the site from Parkside Drive which blocks a portion of the roadway.
A portion of the existing concrete pool deck will remain in place within the new boundary of the waterworks site.
The existing water tower was rehabilitated for $1.5 million in 2023. The new water tower's anticipated cost wasn't included in the report.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
