The current Minoru Aquatic Centre will not be demolished as previously decided by council, rather the City of Richmond will refurbish it and ask community groups to make submissions on how it could be used.
Richmond city council voted to rescind a decision made in 2017 to spend $3 million to decommission and demolish the building when the new Minoru Centre for Active Living is completed. Coun. Harold Steves made the motion to rescind the demolition and look at the first option suggested by staff which is estimated to cost about $425,000 with possibly other upgrades later up to $960,000.
“It’s just as economic to fix that building up as we did with the derelict police station and the derelict city hall on Elmbridge Road – those buildings were supposed to be demolished and they’re useful today,” Steves said.
The Minoru pool, built in 1958 and upgraded in 1977, is set to be closed after the new Minoru Centre for Active Living is open, but council asked at a recent council meeting for low-cost options to convert it for other uses.
One suggestion has been to fill the pool with Styrofoam and then cover it to create a space for recreational activities.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie asked about the presence of mould and asbestos in the pool building, which staff confirmed most likely exists in the building.
Coun. Carol Day pointed out the old RCMP building was refurbished with little money and it’s now a “valuable asset.” She confirmed with staff that if the asbestos and mould isn’t disturbed, it doesn’t cause health problem. In addition, all old buildings including schools would have “some deficiencies according to today’s standards.”
“If we’re going to be worried about mould and asbestos, we should shut (the pool) down right now and get people out of there,” she said.
Passive activities, like cards, table tennis and meetings, activities that don’t require a lot of air flow would most likely be the best activities in the refurbished pool, staff explained to council. Only one of the pools would be filled in and used for other purposes, providing about 12,000 square feet of usable space.
The motion to rescind the demolition was passed with Brodie and councillors Alexa Loo, Bill McNulty and Linda McPhail voting against it.
