Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Providence (Jan 24/03) - A decision made in the legislative assembly next month will have ripple effects in Fort Providence this summer.

The community is seeking a new swimming pool. The existing pool was condemned last summer due to structural and mechanical problems.

As a result, children frequently swam in the Mackenzie River, a practice that makes many parents nervous.

"We had to go out there and chase kids from (the river) in the summer," said Evelyn Head, a mother of three boys age 12 through 18. "They're so tired fighting with the current ... it's too scary."

Albert Lafferty, senior administrative officer for the hamlet, said the community is seeking to get a new pool on a cost-shared basis with most of the funding coming from the territorial government's capital planning budget.

Hamlet council, the recreation committee and the school have all been setting aside funds toward the project, Lafferty noted.

Useful life over

He said the community's existing above-ground pool, which was acquired second-hand, was built in the early 1970s.

"It's basically served its useful life," said Lafferty, who added that a busing program should be in place to take kids to Hay River pool again this summer. "But it's just not the same."

Sheila Bassi-Kellett, director of corporate affairs for Municipal and Community Affairs, said community needs are key factor in how MACA's "limited" capital dollars are spent.

Notwithstanding, she would not confirm that a pool is on Fort Providence's draft capital plan for the upcoming fiscal year.

An above-ground pool would cost roughly $400,000 to $500,000, Bassi-Kellett noted.

Michael McLeod, MLA for Deh Cho, is confident a new pool is on the way. He said February's sitting of the legislative assembly will determine whether ground it broken this year or next.

"If cabinet approves it, we'll have a swimming pool being constructed this coming summer," McLeod said. "We've got our fingers crossed. It's on the list but we've got to make sure that it stays there."

He said constituents have regularly been voicing concerns over the pool closure.

"It's a big issue. The safety factor of the kids swimming in the river is something that concerns parents, grandparents, elders and even the youth," he said.