The Northern Midlands Council will open the Campbell Town Swimming Pool on Saturday, despite the committee's safety concerns for children having to leave the pool to use public facilities.
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A decision by the pool committee was made on Monday night to delay the opening and not sign a lease until concerns were addressed. However, the council announced the opening on December 5 would go ahead without the committee.
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Mayor Mary Knowles said the pool would open without the lease or committee support, as the community was awaiting its opening.
Pool users must exit the area to use the public facilities at the Campbell Town Recreation Ground, which was completed in 2019. Something Ms Knowles said received no complaints last season.
"Despite concerns raised to the contrary, change rooms available for pool patrons use during the pool season are solely for those using the pool," she said.
"Additional users of the complex are instructed to use one of the additional amenities, as the complex contains four fully equipped state-of-the-art change room facilities.
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Pool committee president Nicole Graham said she found out the council were reopening the pool via a Facebook post and was disappointed a letter addressed to her had been sent to the media, despite not receiving it herself, adding she had not been contacted by the council.
She said concerns were raised several times last season, but were ignored, and two solutions to ease concerns had been offered, but were also ignored.
"They can not police it at all, people in meetings will be 10 steps away from the toilets and you can tell them not to use those toilets ... but no one can stop them," she said.
"We have a principal, four teachers, an ex-lifeguard and an ex-police officer on the committee, there's no advantage to us doing this ... but we have all been blown off.
"[It] has escalated the issues when it could have been dealt with far more professionally and with far more community and committee consultation. The community and committee have raised our issues several times with no action or even listening since before last pool season. It has only come to this because enough is enough and we are tired of being ignored."
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