Finally, the Winskill Aquatic and Fitness Centre in Tsawwassen will soon be replaced.
The aging facility has served the community well, but it is long overdue for a new facility to serve the growing needs of our community.
The new facility will include, among other features, an eight-lane lap pool that can be expanded to 10 lanes, an accessible hot tub and steam room and a fully equipped fitness centre that will be double in size from the current facility.
The City of Delta has released three proposed options to allow for the replacement, all of which would see some changes to Winskill Park, including the removal of trees, the re-location of the disc golf course and the possible relocation of one of the baseball diamonds.
All three options have their positives and negatives but are a good starting point in opening discussion with the community.
One option not presented, but brought to our attention through a letter to the editor from Tsawwassen resident Mark Schoeffel is the idea of a new pool and re-vamped South Delta Rec Centre, which would consolidate facilities, staffing, etc. I had not thought about that idea until now, but it certainly has some merit and is certainly an option worth exploring further.
Now that we have some ideas are there any others? What would you like to see this new pool and fitness centre to look like?
Phase one of the public engagement runs from now until June 16 where residents can fill out comments online. There will also be neighbourhood information sessions and community open houses. A report from this initial feedback will be presented to council in late July.
The next phase of engagement begins in October and a finalized design is anticipated by February 2025.
As was stated in Mark Schoeffel’s letter, Delta has a chance here to build a world-class facility that we all can be proud of. Let us all get involved in the discussion and make sure that happens.
