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For community groups that, in some cases, have spent years advocating to keep the pools open and have engaged with the city on updates and renewals, the possibility that the pools could close was a shock.

Joe Hewko, with the Eastglen Engagement Committee, said they were “blindsided” by the news, and that the last two weeks have been spent in a flurry of community organizing to ensure council gets a clear picture about the range of programs and level of use the community gets out of its pool.

“Numbers aren’t the only thing to be looked at,” Hewko said Wednesday.

Scona’s pool has been facing threats of permanent closure for a decade, and the community thought it was safe after the last big fight, said Julie Kusiek, president of the Queen Alexandra Community League.

“We’ve seen this before. The community has clearly demonstrated a demand and a desire for this facility,” she said.

She said the community knows the pool needs to be replaced, but said that it should be kept open in the interim given the influx of density in the area

And she said if council opts to close it, the community will be calling for construction money fora new recreation centre at Rollie Miles to flow more quickly.

Oliver Community League President Lisa Brown said they’ve known for a long time the arena was facing closure, but said the pool being potentially closed for cost-cutting was news. She said the city rebuffed the community’s request increase its operating hours and season, which are shorter than other outdoor pools.

“I understand what the city is trying to achieve with the program and service review, but closing facilities in mature neighbourhoods that we’re trying to densify doesn’t seem like a logical solution to our budget crisis,” said Brown.

All three communities that would be affected by the pool closures plan to attend a public hearing Thursday to give city council feedback on the proposed 2019-2022 city budgets for operations and capital projects.

pparsons@postmedia.com

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