THUNDER BAY - The Heritage Advisory Committee will be looking into the cultural significance of Dease Pool, but even if it receives the designation, the decision to close it still rests in the hands of city council.
The committee met last Thursday and received a presentation by a group of citizens lobbying to keep the century old facility open.
According to Andrew Cotter, chair of the Heritage Advisory Committee, a subcommittee will be formed to evaluate the pool’s heritage value.
“That process can take anywhere from one to two months and of course the pool right now is covered in snow so it’s going to be difficult to evaluate,” Cotter said. “But we do a couple of engineering reports and we can perhaps glean some information from photographs.”
Thunder Bay city council voted last December to close the pool on Dease Street that first opened in 1912. The vote was informed by a report from city administration that advised council that repairing the pool would cost more than $1 million, while a brand new pool would cost $1.3 million, with a total $2.8 million price tag with new change rooms.
The pool is already listed on the heritage registry but not designated. Even if the advisory subcommittee decides to designate the pool, it is still up to council whether or not it will close for good.
“We’ve had buildings that were listed on the heritage registry and they were designated, but council, even after recommendations from heritage committee to preserve the building, they still overturned that and voted to allow the building to be demolished,” Cotter said.
If council were to accept the designation, they would need to pass a bylaw. But because council already voted to close the pool, Cotter said it becomes more complicated.
“This is a bit of an issue because even to designate the pool if we were to go down that avenue, the city council has to vote on that an pass it,” he said. “So I’m not sure if they would reverse their earlier decision to close the pool or not, but ultimately it is up to council whether or not they close the pool.”
For Cotter, what could potentially lead to the designation of the pool as a heritage site has more to do with what it brings to the surrounding community as opposed to its features.
“If you look at the building and the pool itself, it doesn’t have any outstanding heritage features, but the cultural impact to the community having a pool that is over 100 years old and what it means to the community, that would score very high in that area,” he said.
Cotter added that the advisory committee was not consulted before council made the decision to close the pool and he will be making a presentation to city council at Monday evening’s meeting to discuss the issue.
“We have a presentation tonight and will gently remind council that when we have a building on the heritage registry, if there are decisions being made to demolish or close, it would be best to come to our committee first,” he said.
