Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 59 • Issue 11
Andre Proulx wins byelection to become Thompson’s eighth councillor Defeats second-place finisher Chiew Chong by 46 votes
THOMPSON HOCKEY FAN WINS $100 K NEWS PAGE 2
YOUTH TRADES AND TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE NEWS PAGE 5
Andre Proulx won the March 11 byelection to become Thompson’s eighth member of council, receiving 578 votes to beat Chiew Chong and Blake Ellis, who received 532 and 92 votes respectively. 1,202 ballots were cast in the byelection, a turnout of approximately 16 per cent of Thompson’s 7,422 eligible voters. Proulx tied with Chiew Chong with 1,008 votes on election night Oct. 24, though the actual count was later revised to 1,009 votes for each of the two candidates following a judicial recount. Ellis, the only incumbent councillor who ran for re-election but did not retain his seat, was much further behind this time than in October when he finished about 25 votes behind Chong and Proulx. Chong launched a court challenge of the election results, but it was dismissed by Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Herbert Rempel in Winnipeg Feb. 19. Under Manitoba’s municipal election law, a tie vote requires the holding of a byelection unless a recount breaks the tie. A mechanic who moved to Thompson from The Pas in 2008 and opened a business a few years ago, Proulx campaigned on bringing new industry to Thompson to diversify the city’s economy and working with surrounding communities on solutions to problems affecting the city’s downtown core.
Repairing Norplex Pool could have cost as much as $6.5 million Decision to shut it down made because problems were jeopardizing safety of staff and the public, mayor says at public meeting BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
JUNIPER SCHOOL HOLDS SCIENCE FAIR NEWS PAGE 6
YORK LANDING SMURFS WIN KTC TOURNAMENT SPORTS PAGE 7
Andre Proulx
The hundred-odd people who showed up to a public meeting about the Norplex Pool closure March 7 left knowing plenty about why the facility had to be permanently shut down but far less about when a new pool might be built and where the money to do that is going to come from. The mayor, council and city staff heard repeatedly from residents about how important having a pool was to them as individuals and to Thompson, for both practical and symbolic reasons. City manager Anthony McInnis said near the end of his presentation detailing the issues that prompted the decision to permanently close the pool that the cost of repairs and upgrades to make it safe and up to code would range from $3.9 to $6.5 million but didn’t provide a specific dollar figure for how much it will cost to construct a new pool. The city is currently in the process of seeking out grants to help fund an engineering study for the development of a new pool. Such a study would take, optimistically, nine months to complete be-
fore the project was shovel-ready, McInnis said. The decision to shut down the pool was based on the city’s own engineering assessments as well as some conducted by outside organizations, including mechanical and electrical evaluations from 2014 and 2015 that identified needed repairs and upgrades with price tags of $629,000 and $3.5 million, plus or minus 25 per cent, respectively. The city’s most recent assessment was the result of a meeting with pool staff in late January. “They said there’s bigger problems that you’ve really got to look at,” McInnis said and a tour by council just before the permanent shutdown was announced underlined how serious those problems were. “As we were walking through the building, water literally started pouring on the transformer.” Among the repairs and upgrades identified were a new dehumidifying system for the building, with a price tag of $600,000 to purchase and install, a new electrical panel costing $700,000, new louvers and dampers in the ventilation system, with
a price tag of $500,000, and rerouting of return air ducts at a cost of $200,000. Staff have been crawling into the large ducts to manually adjust the louvers because the computerized control system is no longer functional and McInnis said it appeared that there were ducts that hadn’t been cleaned since the pool opened 40 years ago, as 10inch ducts were practically full. In addition, the supports for the waterslide are starting to rust and replacing them would cost an estimated $250,000. Initial reactions to McInnis’s presentation were full of disbelief. “How on earth did it pass inspections to remain open?” asked Danielle Adams. “We are beginning those discussions with out counterparts,” McInnis said. “We have some of the same questions.” Others in the audience outlined to council how important having a pool is. “The only thing that’s saving my life is going to the pool,” said Vanessa Stratton. “That’s all I can do. The pool was everything.”
Thompson Citizen photo by Kyle Darbyson Vanessa Stratton told the mayor and council during a March 7 meeting about the permanent Norplex Pool closure that it was the only place she could exercise and stay active. “This breaks my heart,” said Serena Puranen. “You have taken away the only thing that brought me peace. I can’t function without a pool. I think there is still some benefit to finding out how it got this bad so we don’t do it again.” The general feeling of those who spoke out was that the city needs to move ahead quickly with plans for a new pool and abandon any plans of refurbishing the Norplex Pool. McInnis said that every $1 million the city borrows adds up to a one per cent
tax increase for the number of years that it takes to pay back. Deputy mayor Kathy Valentino will chair the ad-hoc committee studying how to build a new pool and Mayor Colleen Smook said this meeting wasn’t so much to provide answers about when a facility might be built but to explain council’s decision to close it and hear what people who use the pool want. “It may sound like we don’t have a lot of ideas but we thought it was important to hear you first,” she said.