City of Winnipeg committed to reopening Sherbrook Pool

Despite the proposed budget cuts to aquatic services, the City of Winnipeg has announced they remain committed to reopening Sherbrook Pool in Winnipeg's Spence neighbourhood.

The pool, renamed Kinsmen Sherbrook Pool in honour of a $1 million dollar donation pledged by the Winnipeg Kinsmen Club, has been closed since 2012 when structural issues detected by inspections prompted safety concerns.

In a March 6, 2015 press release, Director of Community Services Development, Clive Wightman, stated that the City was "in the very early stages of identifying where we can find efficiencies in our aquatics operations. I’m confident that any efficiencies we identify will result in minimal impact in facility access and programming for citizens." According to Wightman, the popular inner-city pool is still on track to reopen in early 2016.

Budget 2015 proposes a $100,000 reduction in administrative scheduling efficiencies across Winnipeg's 12 indoor pools, effective September 1, 2015. With an additional $200,000 reduction for administrative indoor pool efficiencies planned for 2016, there will be a total of $300,000 in cuts annually.

Winnipeg Kinsmen Club president, Raj Phangureh, has expressed concern over the fate of his club's substantial proposed donation, but a civic spokeswoman has confirmed the cuts will be limited to the $300, 000 announced.

Built in 1931, Sherbrook Pool is an iconic and well-used aquatic facility in Winnipeg's Spence neighbourhood. Following the pool's closure, the City of Winnipeg earmarked $1.7 million towards restoration and repair. The Kinsmen Club contributed an additional $1 million dollars to sponsor the project. Other funding for the project includes $1 million from the province via the Manitoba/Winnipeg Infrastructure Agreement and approximately $421,000 from the city and province's cost-shared Building Communities Initiative II.

Photos by: Babysitting.today, Manitoba Historical Society, City of Winnipeg