Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society
Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre
Mpesa
A place for community, fun, and recreation!
In the News...
Press Release - Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society: Moving Forward Despite Inverness County Refusal
The Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society is a group of volunteers committed to realizing our communities’ vision of an indoor local pool and recreation centre to serve all residents and visitors in western Cape Breton Island. This year-round community hub will make aquatic recreation more accessible for approximately 10,000 residents.
Since the publication of the feasibility study in 2023, an active group of volunteers have been working towards making the energy-neutral facility a reality. The Society has been working towards researching site locations, sharing the idea with locals, and lobbying the Inverness Municipality to have staff look into the opening of the aquatic centre.
The Municipality has repeatedly refused to allow Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society (CBWAC) to present their feasibility study findings to council. In June, Councillor Lynn Chisholm introduced a motion requesting municipal staff to assess the feasibility of
the proposed facility. Without any consultation, CBWAC volunteers and the public were left to learn from a July 31st article in The Oran that the Municipality had done their own research and had no plans to move forward.
The article was very disheartening for the volunteers to read, and extremely misleading to the public. With such a quick turnaround in research and absolutely no communication with the society, it seems as though the decision to “pass” was made by Warden Bonny MacIsaac, CAO Keith MacDonald, and all councillors, before staff even began to look into the feasibility of the aquatic centre. The article said that municipal staff based numbers off of a new facility in East Hants, and while it was also used in the original feasibility study, it was used in regards to similar size and population base. The council is claiming that an aquatic centre would cause municipal taxes to grossly increase in order to build and maintain the facility, and they are not willing to consider it because taxpayers have much more important needs and do not care for “a pool”.
The Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society, however, will be pushing forward with its mission! Though the aquatic centre does not yet have a firm location, there are multiple, very real possibilities. It certainly does not belong to Margaree Forks, as council likes to repeat in its communication. It will serve residents and visitors from Pleasant Bay down to Mabou, from the Margarees to Baddeck, and Whycocomagh, and all the many places in between. The reason this centre is achievable is because it will be energy neutral; energy neutral means that the building will produce as much energy as it consumes. The East Hants Pool is not energy-neutral and council did not use any energy-neutral facilities in their research. The county claims their contribution to the construction of the facility would be $14.4 million dollars. CBWAC estimates a higher construction price, but 90% would be federal and provincial government contributions. This means the county would be asked to contribute to the remaining $3 million dollars. It is well known that a pool takes a significant amount of money to operate and maintain; however, this state-of-the-art facility will significantly reduce those costs through innovative technologies such as heat recovery and solar energy. The feasibility study says that zero energy costs are over 35% less per year than that of a traditional pool.
It’s one thing to reject a proposal after thoroughly understanding its details, with accurate cost projections and informed analysis; but to dismiss a community-driven initiative outright, based only on preconceptions, is not only unproductive and short-sighted, it’s profoundly disappointing. This community deserves a fair evaluation of ideas, not decisions made on assumptions.
The CBWAC Society is thinking and working outside-of-the-box with green and innovative strategies that are becoming more and more the norm, thanks to the support from provincial and federal governments. The Inverness Municipal Council, on the other hand, is looking at this from a strictly monetary and antiquated point of view. Board member Sarah McDaniel reminds us that, “All of us as volunteers and supporters of the facility are taxpayers too. We are not pushing forward with a whimsical dream without considering the real impacts on the residents of all of Western Cape Breton.”
The real impacts of the Aquatic Centre are improved health, year-round exercise and recreation, accessibility, community building, employment, increased water safety and awareness, attracting families to the area, and possibilities for more community services. The Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society is asking the public to move forward with them as they see the reality of a state-of-the-art energy-neutral aquatic centre that will not be a burden, but a place for residents to be proud of, a place to be active, a place to have fun!
Visit capebretonwestaquaticcentre.ca for more information and keep your eyes peeled for ways to support and promote an energy-neutral aquatic centre in Western Cape Breton.
Press Release - Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society: Moving Forward Despite Inverness County Refusal
The Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society is a group of volunteers committed to realizing our communities’ vision of an indoor local pool and recreation centre to serve all residents and visitors in western Cape Breton Island. This year-round community hub will make aquatic recreation more accessible for approximately 10,000 residents.
Since the publication of the feasibility study in 2023, an active group of volunteers have been working towards making the energy-neutral facility a reality. The Society has been working towards researching site locations, sharing the idea with locals, and lobbying the Inverness Municipality to have staff look into the opening of the aquatic centre.
The Municipality has repeatedly refused to allow Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society (CBWAC) to present their feasibility study findings to council. In June, Councillor Lynn Chisholm introduced a motion requesting municipal staff to assess the feasibility of
the proposed facility. Without any consultation, CBWAC volunteers and the public were left to learn from a July 31st article in The Oran that the Municipality had done their own research and had no plans to move forward.
The article was very disheartening for the volunteers to read, and extremely misleading to the public. With such a quick turnaround in research and absolutely no communication with the society, it seems as though the decision to “pass” was made by Warden Bonny MacIsaac, CAO Keith MacDonald, and all councillors, before staff even began to look into the feasibility of the aquatic centre. The article said that municipal staff based numbers off of a new facility in East Hants, and while it was also used in the original feasibility study, it was used in regards to similar size and population base. The council is claiming that an aquatic centre would cause municipal taxes to grossly increase in order to build and maintain the facility, and they are not willing to consider it because taxpayers have much more important needs and do not care for “a pool”.
The Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society, however, will be pushing forward with its mission! Though the aquatic centre does not yet have a firm location, there are multiple, very real possibilities. It certainly does not belong to Margaree Forks, as council likes to repeat in its communication. It will serve residents and visitors from Pleasant Bay down to Mabou, from the Margarees to Baddeck, and Whycocomagh, and all the many places in between. The reason this centre is achievable is because it will be energy neutral; energy neutral means that the building will produce as much energy as it consumes. The East Hants Pool is not energy-neutral and council did not use any energy-neutral facilities in their research. The county claims their contribution to the construction of the facility would be $14.4 million dollars. CBWAC estimates a higher construction price, but 90% would be federal and provincial government contributions. This means the county would be asked to contribute to the remaining $3 million dollars. It is well known that a pool takes a significant amount of money to operate and maintain; however, this state-of-the-art facility will significantly reduce those costs through innovative technologies such as heat recovery and solar energy. The feasibility study says that zero energy costs are over 35% less per year than that of a traditional pool.
It’s one thing to reject a proposal after thoroughly understanding its details, with accurate cost projections and informed analysis; but to dismiss a community-driven initiative outright, based only on preconceptions, is not only unproductive and short-sighted, it’s profoundly disappointing. This community deserves a fair evaluation of ideas, not decisions made on assumptions.
The CBWAC Society is thinking and working outside-of-the-box with green and innovative strategies that are becoming more and more the norm, thanks to the support from provincial and federal governments. The Inverness Municipal Council, on the other hand, is looking at this from a strictly monetary and antiquated point of view. Board member Sarah McDaniel reminds us that, “All of us as volunteers and supporters of the facility are taxpayers too. We are not pushing forward with a whimsical dream without considering the real impacts on the residents of all of Western Cape Breton.”
The real impacts of the Aquatic Centre are improved health, year-round exercise and recreation, accessibility, community building, employment, increased water safety and awareness, attracting families to the area, and possibilities for more community services. The Cape Breton West Aquatic Centre Society is asking the public to move forward with them as they see the reality of a state-of-the-art energy-neutral aquatic centre that will not be a burden, but a place for residents to be proud of, a place to be active, a place to have fun!
Visit capebretonwestaquaticcentre.ca for more information and keep your eyes peeled for ways to support and promote an energy-neutral aquatic centre in Western Cape Breton.
...dedicated to promoting the development of a year-round, indoor, energy-neutral, state-of-the-art pool and recreation facility to serve all residents and visitors in western Cape Breton Island.
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