The Baw Baw Shire Council’s redevelopment of the Warragul Leisure Centre is now well underway in what has been a testing period for the council.
The 13.9 million dollar construction project that officially began on the 6th of May has been opposed on numerous occasions since the council voted to dismantle the original outdoor pool.
Council engineers have estimated that the aquatic services run by the YMCA at the centre will be out of commission for approximately 15 months with works scheduled to conclude by the 30th of June 2016.
The Shire chose Behmer & Wright construction company for the operation as a result of lengthy community consultation, previous experience and cost to benefit ratios.
With the closure of current aquatic facilities many staff members were made redundant, including the entirety of the YMCA’s lifeguards, swim teachers and customer service staff.
Former Frontline Coordinator, Glenn Lloyd, said “People weren’t happy that the redevelopment was happening… we weren’t offered jobs back in the centre or told we could come back”.
Due to the nature of the upgrade Lloyd said “essentially they had to redeploy staff or make them redundant”.
One of the lifeguards made redundant, Jack Baker, said “yes, major works needed to be done… the pool was not up to a decent standard,” Jack also went on to say “it’s not that I lost my job, it’s just hard to get a job”.
The master plan for the redevelopment outlines several different kinds of pools; hydrothermal, indoor, outdoor, disabled access and hot water pools.
Also included in the upgrade is the updating of equipment for staff and the maintenance of existing buildings including the damaged basketball court roof.
Baw Baw Shire Mayor, Councillor Deborah Brown, said “the objective of this council is to deliver outcomes… the leisure centre redevelopment has been on the agenda for years and it’s great we will finally be able to tick it off”.
“It’s no good having assets that are falling down around your ears,” Councillor Brown said.
The council has stated that the opportunities for local tourism will greatly increase when the project is completed and that the residents of the area will be able to enjoy a facility up to a modern standard.
Residents who are still looking to participate in aquatic activities are having their requirements met by other leisure services in nearby locations within the shire.
Harrison Johnstone 