The entire Campbell Town Swimming Pool executive committee has resigned, with the president alleging bullying from the Northern Midlands Council.
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The council did not respond to the bullying allegations, but said the pool would continue to operate following the "unexpected resignation" of several committee members.
"Those resignations occurred prior to scheduled discussions with council on some aspects of facility management," a council spokesperson said.
Mayor Mary Knowles said they would not respond to the bullying allegations as The Examiner's inquiries were the first they had heard about it.
The council opened the pool on December 5, with four people attending on opening day, after the committee refused to sign a lease until safety concerns on children using shared public facilities were addressed.
Former pool president Nicole Graham said herself, the vice president, secretary and treasurer had quit. She said she resigned as she felt bullied by the council, both directly and indirectly.
"In my 30 years of business details, and volunteer positions on committees, boards, working parties and business groups in the past, I have never experienced such negativity and undermining," she said.
"I feel due [to council's] vexatiousness towards me, it was best that I stood down, in the hope that the issues raised could be resolved without that toxicity.
"When I resigned from the committee, one executive had already resigned, one other resigned at the same time as me and another immediately after," she said.
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One matter raised by Ms Graham was a letter addressed to her from the council, which was distributed to the media alongside a press release. The letter addressed issues raised by the committee, but stated the pool's Facebook page had some comments which were "totally inappropriate" and were "tasteless" for a council committee.
The council letter demanded they were taken down immediately. One of the comments referred to was from a member of the public commenting on a post and the other focused on the generalised comments about concerns about men using the public shared male facilities.
A solution had been proposed by the committee, with a lockable door to stop an internal hallway entrance to the men's toilets and a toilet in the existing parents' room.
Pool users must exit the area to use the public facilities at the Campbell Town Recreation Ground, which was completed in 2019, something the council said received no complaints last season.
Related:
- Four people attend pool's opening day
- Council to open pool itself, despite safety concerns
- Pool opening delayed by toilet safety concerns
- Council will use consultation to guide town pool changes
- Community pressure saves Ross Pool
- Community fights plans to dispose of pool
- Ross Swimming Pool closure talks to begin
It maintains the facilities are for the sole use of pool patrons and additional users of complex are instructed to use the additional amenities as it contains two other change room facilities.
Ms Graham said the previous committee did raise concerns last season, but they were ignored.
She said the latest resignations were from a brand new executive committee, as before the pool's annual general meeting this year the previous president, secretary and treasurer resigned.
"I know the previous committee also had great difficulty dealing with the council and expressed their concerns ... regarding child safety issues that were also not acted on," she said.
The council runs three pools in the municipality and admitted it can not replicate funding for all in future and will use a strategy guided by community consultation to decide changes.
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