Original $2.5M may turn $7.4M project Deana Lancaster News Reporter dlancaster@usnews.com WHEN architects Roger Hughes and Partners asked the residents of West Vancouver what they’d like to see in an overhauled aquatic centre, they got a lengthy list. The firm was retained in February to con- duct a feasibility study after the Recreation Facility Master Plan committee recommended the addition of a leisure pool to the centre. While doing the study, the architects discov- ered the 26-year-old facility lacked access for people with disabilities, didn’t meet fire code regulations, had envelope code and humidity problems and rot under the roof. As well, after a quarter of a century, the mechanical systems that heat and clean the pool need to be replaced. The consultants then went to West Vancouver residents and the groups that use the pool most often: seniors, families, adults and youth, swim clubs, dive programs and the cen- tre’s staff. The consensus? They need more room. The final proposal, which includes a new Icisure ‘~ pool, more swim lanes, larger change rooms, a ., Waterslide, steam room and a large fitness facil- *. ity, rings in at an estimated cost of almost $7.4 ‘million. That figure is almost triple the $2.5 ‘million district council allotted last year for the renovations recommended in the master plan. ~The increased budget raised at least one pair of eyebrows at Monday night’s council meeting. 22nd Street Martine Drive Proposed Main Flace Fign, graphic Roger Hughes and Partners Architects THE plans include a new leisure pool, exercise room, waterslide and larger change rooms. million? ... Ir boggles the mind, and we're talk- ing about it like it’s a done deal ... it’s scary,” fumed Coun. John Clark. Coun. Alan Williams was quick to point out that it isn’t a done deal, and that the money would be well spent. “The facility is 26 years old, now we want something that will be just as good 26 years from now,” he said. “With 2.5 million we could have improved the water facilities, but we couldn’r get the things the public thinks is necessary,” added Coun. Victor Durman. And according to “How. docs it go from 2.5 million to 7.5 ‘FOUR-yeer-old Charley Stanrers and mom Tamara ‘love to swim at the pool, bui say it's crowded and wimming lessons sell out. ! HL d Donte at . : x So, A unity» Ina recent 4-2 vote, North Vancouver . District. council allowed Maplewood to have its own OCP, rather than proceed as “part of the Seymour planning process. : “We don’t want to ram’ anything down people’s throats but we want to get on with it. We're tired of it,” said Tom ‘oung of the Maplewood Community . Association, of a process that has already - lasted three years. . The process hasn’t been a waste of ime for Maplewood, however. Young ‘said that residents and business owners who participated in one of the commit- tees came up with lots of ideas for what ‘they want to see in a neighbourhood that run-down and plagued by crime. ©, Those include plans for a town centre ‘with retail and residential space on a tract of land owned by CXY Chemicals Lrd., (Can OXY) ‘adjacent to its waterfront . chlorine plant at 100 Amherst Ave. The chemical company, ‘said Young, has ‘agreed ‘to pursue zoning for. any use “"'which the community agrees to. "Members of the association would also like to see a residential development on.a parcel of district-owned property east of iverside Drive and North of the Hughes, the cost is not high for an up-to-date aquatic cen- tre: about $170 per square foot, compared to more than $200 per square foot for one buile from scratch. After the meeting, municipal manager Dave Stuart said that although the estimated cost has increased, so has the scope of the project. With Clark opposed, council voted to make a decision on July 17 as to the size of the project as well as revisions to Neighbourhood breaks away from Seymour process - Dollarton Highway. Many people, particularly those opposed to more growth, want to see the entire Scymour area addressed in one lan. But Young said that those who live in the area are best qualified to make their own decisions, = ; “We're not a pro-development associ- ation,” he said. “All we're saying is if there is development, we want it on terms acceptable to our community. And I don’t think you can accomplish that by - fighting all the time and that’s what the Seymour local plan people want to do.” Any re-zoning application, including a recently expressed interest by a film stu- dio for Maplewood flats, would run into: trouble in an area without an OCP. Young said he is worried about fosing - opportunities while the Seymour process .: continues. But not everyone in Maplewood agrees that development is the. key to suc- cess. Even Coun.. Doug MacKay-Dunn acknowledged that he had not taken everyone’s views into account when he wrote a strongly-worded report about Maplewood having a plan of its own. “Pm in the business of getting two sides to the story, and there is another the long-term capital plan to accommodate the increased costs. Construction could begin in the spring of 2001. lans alone " side,” he said, explaining that he spoke with other residents on the weekend who want Maplewood included in the Seymour planning process. He told council that he promised them he would try to have his own motion deferred to give him time to hear them out. His motion for deferral was defeated. r Coun. Lisa Muri objected to the tone of his report, which she called “slander- ous.” - “Some members ‘of the community want to manage change in a proactive manner,” MacKay-Dunn wrote, “while others want to use the process as a pre- scription for paralysis. In other areas of the district, communities and ncighbour- hoods are anxious to work with staff to improve their quality of life through rational and reasoned development.” “So what am 1?” Muri said, referring to her long record against more residen- tial development in Seymour. “Not ratio- nal and reasoned?” Eric Andersen, who chaired the growth and development committee of the Seymour plan, explained that volun- teers have already devoted three years of work to lcoking at issues such as eco- nomic development, housing and schools, parks and wilderness, and trans- portation. Committees dedicated to those topics looked at the whole Seymour area, including Maplewood. Now that See Muri page NEWS photos Terry Peters MASTER plan committee member Frank Kurucz swims in the pool daily. He says it _ needs the update and thinks the municipality should “do it alt or don’t do it at all”. : North Shore MPs _ stand by their men | ‘Bob Mackin News Reporter bmackin@nsnews.com.. . TWO men say their candidates will win. One of them must be wrong. ; * . Local Canadian Allisnce MPs John Reynolds and Ted White will know Saturday afternoon whether Preston Manning or Stockwell Day will lead the successor to the Reform Party. Reynolds, West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, is a staunch sup- portcr of Manning, Reform’s first and only leader. White, North Vancouver, ts backing Day, the former Alberta treasurer. . A head-to-head vote was necessary after Day won the first ballot, without gaining a majority on June 24. ; Telephone voting, for the second ballot began Wednesday at. 11:01 p.m. and ends 4 p.m. Saturday. Traditional polling sta- tions are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Initial results will be announced after 4:45 p.m. from the election headquarters at the Regal Constellation Hote! near Pearson International Airport: in Toronto. Approximately 200,000 Canadian Alliance members - are cligible to vote. , ; . “I’m optimistic we might reverse what the media is telling people that Stockwell’s ahead and it’s a foregone conclusion,” said Reynolds. “Preston's got an excellent chance of winning. . You’ve gotta be Houdini to figure out the right number. Tom. Long coming over in Ontario has helped immensely, swinging the vote to Preston.” Reynolds said he will be at home, watch- ing the results on TV with other Manning supporters. © As for White, lic won't be surprised if Day wins 70% of the vote. “Ill be in Toronto,” White said. “I expect my guy to win and I want to be on stage with him when he takes over.” Day supporters, including White, believe the new party needs a new leader. But Reynolds disagrees. “(Manning is) one man who had the vision. Everybody said he could never start the party, he got the party started; he would never get elected, he got elected; he would never be in official opposition, he’: the official opposition.” :