The mechanical air handling system in the pool hall broke down in November, and thanks to the warming weather at that time, the loss of the system has barely been noticed.

Blayney Shire Council’s Director of Planning and Environmental Services, Mark Dicker, said that the 18-year-old system needed to be completely replaced.

“We’ve had a leading aquatic mechanical engineer come and visit us recently and will complete a scoping study that will look at all the options available to us,” he said.

Of those options that have already been discussed, the expected cost will be around the $300,000 mark, Mr Dicker said.

“Half of that would come from the Centrepoint reserve which has $1 million in it, the other half from section 94 infrastructure contributions,” he said.

Irrespective of which system council is recommended, the possibility of it being installed before winter will be difficult.

“By the time we get the options, pick the system we want, and because of the value of the project it will need to go to tender, and it comes back to council, the reality is that it will be hard for it to be finished by the end of May,” he said.

The pool will remain open during that time as the system that heats the water is unaffected, and council will be doing what they can to keep the pool area warm when the cold inevitably returns.

“We will need to keep all the doors closed and just use the louvres,” Mr Dicker said.

“But any new system we install will drastically change the amenity of the pool area and will transform what sometimes feels like a sauna into a completely new and comfortable environment.”