A new Aldergrove pool and recreation centre will not be completed by 2014 as enthusiasts had hoped, but it will be conceived sometime in the future, according to Langley Township council.
Joanne Nicolato, chair of the recently-formed Aldergrove Pool Committee, spoke to Township council Monday night to make her case for why the Aldergrove community needs a new swimming pool and recreation centre. Nicolato, who was featured on the Million-Dollar Neighbourhood reality TV project filmed in Aldergrove this past year by the Oprah Winfrey Network, is a strong believer that Aldergrove needs the new infrastructure to bring the community together.
Once a critic of Aldergrove, since being part of the Oprah Winfrey Network show, Nicolato says she has found a new love and pride for her community.
“I found myself bursting with community pride. I went from not caring at all to now wanting to do whatever I could to support our businesses and to bring back life to our community,” she said to council.
The Aldergrove Pool Committee is currently handing out surveys to calculate exactly how much support there is for their project.
Nicolato says people from all surrounding areas will also be using the centre, so it will benefit residents beyond the borders of Aldergrove.
“When I started this I wanted a pool. When we’ve been doing the survey what we have found is that it’s not just a pool that Aldergrove wants or needs.
“It encapsulates all the fitness, it encapsulates all the community and we’re well aware of the funding issues and we are willing to work,” she said.
Of the 638 surveys Nicolato has counted so far, 99 per cent of those polled want to see a pool constructed in Aldergrove, 75 per cent want a fitness room, 69 per cent want a weight room and 55 per cent want an indoor walking track.
Although council is showing enthusiasm for the project, there isn’t enough money to tackle it at this time.
“It’s a great project and we’ll get it done, not by 2014, but we will get it done,” Councillor Charlie Fox said.
“I believe that you guys will succeed in this,” Councillor Michelle Sparrow said.
“The talk of having partnerships and being open to different alternatives and making this a real centre, the real heart of Aldergrove I think is exactly what you guys will accomplish.”
A hotdog fundraiser will be held by the Aldergrove Pool Committee at the Aldergrove Save-On Foods on April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information, visit www.aldergrovereccenter.ca.
