With a goal of opening in spring of 2025 the Queens Pool Committee have a lot of work ahead of them.

They hit the ground running in the last month.

Comprised of two council members, two members of Queens Community Aquatic Society and two members of the community who are pool users, the committee recently received a mandate to provide Region of Queens council with information and recommendations on the construction of a new outdoor pool.

They presented the first of those recommendations along with a proposed plan of action to council at the Jan 10 meeting.

Chief among those is where to build.

Committee Chair Deborah Herman-Spartinelli says Queens Place is the obvious choice for the new outdoor pool for many reasons.

“You’re talking about a facility that already has a huge lobby with a desk already there, right by where you'd walk out to the pool. So, they can do the same thing you do with a card when you belong to the fitness centre. They can swipe it and go through and go right through to the pool and then the change rooms will be out there,” said Herman-Spartinelli.

“Plus you're talking about costs too because you can share part of the wall of the [Queens Place] Emera Centre that's already there, you can share the roof for solar panels and any air handling systems or anything that has to be done can be put on the roof.”

The group is proposing to build the pool alongside the fitness centre side of Queens Place.

They recommend a 6-lane, Olympic length as well as a side beach entrance with a gradual slope into the water which would be more accessible for children and anyone with mobility issues.

Herman-Spartinelli says new change rooms, separate from the ones used for the gym will be required to provide a wet-change area.

She says the location of the pool allows all the necessary mechanical equipment and potential solar power to be placed close to where it is needed.

Herman-Spartinelli says the committee is keen to use solar power so the pool can be built to a net-zero standard.

“To me it’s a no-brainer. If you’re going to build a pool for a region you should be putting solar in. It’s the best way to heat water,” said Herman-Spartinelli.

All of the recommendations and designs from the committee need to be approved by Region of Queens council before municipal staff issue tenders.

An anonymous donor is putting up the money to build the new outdoor pool in Queens.

The pool will be built with private funds then owned, maintained, and operated by the Region of Queens once construction is complete.

Herman-Spartinelli says the donor would like to see the pool in operation by the spring of 2025 and if all goes to plan, they should be able to meet that timeline.

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