The pool area in the Blayney CentrePoint Sports and Leisure Centre will be closed from mid-July until March following the awarding of a $4.7 million contract to Hines Constructions.
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Selected from five options presented by Blayney Shire Council staff during an extraordinary meeting on Monday morning, the awarded project is in essence nearly a complete rebuild of the pool area, but leaves the roof and other infrastructure for future funding.
Deputy mayor David Kingham said the reconstruction was what the community had been asking for.
"The pool that's there now was built in 1966 and in its heyday, around 1999, the pool was drawing people to the shire as an attraction," he said. "But over the past 20 years the centre has shown some wear and it's not meeting the needs of the users today."
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From the onset of discussions with pool users, Cr Kingham said the three pools would each have their own dedicated heating system allowing for three distinct zones to be established.
"This will mean lap swimmers can swim at a more comfortable swim at the recommended 26c and the middle pool can enjoy water exercise and hydrotherapy up to a maximum 32c," he said.
The project also includes the creation of dedicated pre- and post-shower areas, the reconfiguration and renovation of toilets and change rooms.
Along with the construction of an entirely new plant room, the cost of rebuilding the toddler pool and upgrades to the middle and lap pool, council is now on the market to borrow $2 million to match the $1.9 million it received from the Australian Government under the Building Better Regions Fund.
Council will also be using $478,000 from the CentrePoint Rebuilding Fund to pay for works.
Cr Kingham said once the pool area was completed, planning would begin on replacing the roof over the centre and installing energy saving measures.
"Stage one is rebuilding the pool area and identifying efficiencies of operation, increasing membership and ways of raising the revenue of the building," he said.
"Stage two is the roof and various ways of reducing electricity costs as this is a very high user of electricity so solar panels, natural air flow enhancements and any other sources of electricity that will make it more energy efficient than it already is."
Mark Logan
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
