In the regular meeting of City Council last night, council voted to distribute a Request for Proposal (RFP) in Oct. 2019 for the sale and development of the Natatorium and the YMCA buildings with the understanding that the Natatorium remains designated as a heritage building and the City maintains access to the outdoor pool.

A major concern for both buildings is the financial investment required to bring them up to code. 

"We are looking to obviously maintain the heritage status of the Natatorium, " said Mayor Fraser Tolmie. "It is a jewel within Crescent Park. And obviously, a lot of people in this community have a heart for the outdoor pool. So with this RFP, what we're doing is we're going out to the broader community and asking if there's any ideas that can be brought forward that would be suitable under these terms, maintaining the Natatorium as a heritage building and access to the outdoor pool."

Councillor Heather Eby explained the RFP would propose the sale of the buildings only. The potential buyer would sign a long term land lease with the City. 

Eby stated that she is not "super hopeful" the responses to the RFP will be satisfactory.

"I'm not super hopeful that we're going to get responses back that will be palatable to this council, but I am willing to look at those," said Eby. "The total investment required based on the Parks and Rec analysis of the [YMCA] building is over $3 million just to bring it up to programmable status. I think that's pretty significant for anyone coming in, but maybe there's someone out there that will see a business opportunity there and that will be great."

Eby stated further that "this is not about demolishing the Nat." 

Councillor Brian Swanson argued against submitting an RFP for the YMCA, stating that the building is beyond fixing. 

"I actually would be in favour of demolishing the YMCA. I don't think it's a functional building. It lacks parking, it's poorly designed, and it requires significant upgrades, and the hope that there's some miracle that's going to come over the hill and save us on that one, I just think we might get ourselves further into the quicksand."

The motion was defeated by council in a tied vote.