Editor:
Thank you to those on council who spoke for and voted for heat and a cover for the proposed Aldergrove pool. The pool and the water park are surely unique. That is what our mayor wanted for Aldergrove: A unique experience to use a recreation centre with insufficient parking as a way of revitalizing a commercial district.
This pool with a cover is a start but the whole of council needs to work together to give Aldergrove a larger pool. What are the Township's plans if they find upon opening that the pool is way too small to meet the needs of the Aldergrove community? Will they then renovate immediately at a higher cost to enlarge the pool or will they wait 40 or more years to build a larger pool in another setting?
If the pool will truly be warm with heated cement, overhead heating and wind screen as Councilor Long states, swimming will be great for those people that will comfortably fit into the pool. When numbers are given for the pool capacity by officials, they are saying how many people could fit into the pool. The “capacity number” does not leave room for swimming. It only leaves room for standing and life guard watching, similar to what happens on a hot day in our present pool.
At least the changing of the boundaries of Brookswood/Fernridge to put the undeveloped land in south Brookswood into Fernridge, perhaps to develop it into a townhouse and condo clone of Willoughby, shows that council is not partial, and does not listen to Brookswood residents equally as much as Aldergrove residents despite the public engagement exercise.
I'd really like to know why the Township of Langley will not make the year-round pool larger by eliminating the summer-only wave pool. A larger pool will attract more people for 12 months of the year, bringing more people to the downtown core to help with revitalization and giving more recreational opportunities to Aldergrove. A wave pool would be expensive to build and operate, eliminating those costs could pay for a larger pool.
Really council has time if they have the will. Fix this before construction starts. Give Aldergrove the larger pool that it requires. We need at least a 35 metre, 8-lane pool to give room for a deep end and a variety of activities. Consider the needs of the Aldergrove community. You are close to giving Aldergrove the year-round pool that meets the needs of the community, but no cigar yet.
Dianne Kask, Aldergrove