2342 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

The No side took issue with the basketball court, etc, and not the expense this will bring?

[Victoria Watcher]

As is often the case, one side will use any spurious defence they can muster.

[LJ]

Well Victoria can kiss any thoughts of amalgamation goodbye, no other muni is going to sign on to this monstrosity.

[dasmo]

They might use it as a tool to try and force it.

[Mike K.]

Oh I don’t know, LJ. Consider the direction Saanich is heading in. Esquimalt, too.

The odd one out is Oak Bay.

[FogPub]

Renter here.  Voted no.

[Victoria Watcher]

Now UVic wants $5M from CoV taxpayers to keep their pool open for a few years.

[Victoria Watcher]

The impact that building a new Crystal Pool and recreation centre will have on property taxes this year in Victoria is expected to be laid out in a staff report in a couple of weeks.

Residents voted almost 59 per cent in favour of allowing council to borrow money for the project, which would take between five and six years and cost as much as an estimated $215.9 million.

Victoria council agreed Thursday to have city staff detail the impact of the referendum decision on the 2025 budget and report back Feb. 27.


https://www.timescol...-weeks-10233525





So we needed the yes vote before this number could be calculated?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 February 2025 - 05:55 AM.

[lanforod]

Now UVic wants $5M from CoV taxpayers to keep their pool open for a few years.

 

Lemme make that more accurate: UVic needs $5.1m to get the McKinnon pool back up and running PLUS annual operational costs (and yes, it would just be for a few years). It is not asking the CoV for this afaik. It's mainly informational, I don't know that anyone would want to throw their money into that black hole. IMO, at that cost, they made the right call to shut it down.

[Victoria Watcher]

Lemme make that more accurate: UVic needs $5.1m to get the McKinnon pool back up and running PLUS annual operational costs (and yes, it would just be for a few years). It is not asking the CoV for this afaik. It's mainly informational, I don't know that anyone would want to throw their money into that black hole. IMO, at that cost, they made the right call to shut it down.

Any plan to reopen and operate McKinnon Pool, even on an interim basis, would require significant capital investment, the university said, adding: “given other priorities, we do not have available resources to do this.”

“Post-secondary institutions across Canada are facing budgetary challenges, and UVic is not immune to these,” it said. “We must focus limited budget resources on areas of highest priority — research, academics and student support.

The university said, however, that it’s willing to explore options to upgrade the facility and reopen the pool for the time required to bridge to the opening of a new regional aquatics facility, if government and community partners come forward with the money to cover upgrades and operating costs.

“We are looking forward to connecting with government and community partners to ­discuss what may be possible,” the statement said.


https://www.timescol...t-says-10227100

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 February 2025 - 09:02 AM.

[lanforod]

Opened the door. You think anyone will actually have a serious conversation at those dollar amounts? I don't believe it, nah. Would students be okay with their fees taking a one time $50 jump and then maybe $5 per year more? Maybe... but they have a lot of fees already.

[dasmo]

59% of the residents who voted voted in favour. Not 59% of the residents.

[dasmo]

Total voter turnout for the Crystal Pool Referendum was 15,547 or 21.18% of registered voters. 9,115 (58.71%) voted Yes to being in favour of the City of Victoria adopting the Loan Authorization.
So 12% of registered voters decided the fate of all.
That's registered voters too.

What's the truth here?

9,115 out of 95,717 or 9.5% of residents voted in favour.

Edited by dasmo, 14 February 2025 - 12:09 PM.

[lanforod]

The truth is that if you chose not to vote, you're effectively saying you don't care about the result.

[dasmo]

The truth is that if you chose not to vote, you're effectively saying you don't care about the result.

Not necessarily. How many chose not to vote vs didn't know about it. 

[lanforod]

Didn't know about it also = don't care enough. Either you care enough to stay informed on what is going on in your community, or you don't. It's hard to argue this one was kept secret.

[Victoria Watcher]

Yup

[dasmo]

The goal is disengagement.

[dasmo]

Blaming apathy aside, my point was that the headline is misleading.

[Victoria Watcher]

The City of Victoria will build the $209.2-million replacement of the Crystal Pool on the existing site.

 

Council voted unanimously Thursday to endorse a city staff recommendation to rebuild on the same site and to start the ball rolling for a detailed design for the new facility, which it hopes will open in 2030.

 

“It’s about time,” said Mayor Marianne Alto. “I do strongly believe that had a previous council, in which I was part, in the majority had a little more courage, we would all be swimming in a pool by now.”

 

Staff will now start the work on a detailed design of the project, while pool users will have to begin planning for life without a pool for a few years during construction.

 

The design period is expected to be about 21 months, which could mean the existing facility will remain open until late 2026 or early 2027.

 

Coun. Jeremy Caradonna noted that more than 60 per cent of voters who participated in the February referendum on the project indicated they preferred the existing site, which was $6 million cheaper, could be built a little more quickly, and meant losing fewer trees than building on an adjacent site in Central Park.

 

 

https://www.timescol...cility-10372600