The detailed design phase for the city's new recreation complex will begin immediately after council approved the more expensive of two options offered by the architects tasked with coming up with a concept for the project that has been decades in the making.
Council voted Thursday to unanimously approve Option B, which includes a 10-lane 25 metre pool, warm leisure pool, seating for 150 spectators, a gymnasium with courts built to International Basketball Federation standards, a three-lane 180 metre running track and slightly larger Idea Exchange library, all at a cost of about $108 million.
To pay for it, taxpayers will be hit with an initial tax hike of 4.89 per cent, or an estimated $73 per year for the average household, and will pay that each year for the duration of the 20 year debt repayment plan.
About $33 million of the cost will be funded through the city's reserve funds and $46.6 million of the project total will be funded from future development charges.
Paying off the remaining debt will bring the city's debt limit to 13.1 per cent, making it the highest debt limit among comparator Ontario cities with populations greater than 100,000.
City staff had recommended Option A, which included design and construction of an eight-lane pool, three court gymnasium, 150-metre running track, meeting rooms, fitness room and Idea Exchange at a slightly lesser cost of $99.8 million.
But Coun. Scott Hamilton changed the motion to go with Option B after hearing from a number of delegates pushing for the 10-lane pool.
"The pool over decades will pay itself back not only financially, but culturally, emotionally, by building a city that is steeped in athletic tradition," Hamilton said.
The growth of the city was another factor in his decision to go with the larger, more expensive option.
Hamilton, who is councillor in the ward where the rec complex is being built, said his ward alone will be larger than Preston in a few years and residential development is going to continue.
"I think we've been searching for the perfect rec complex, for what seems like decades, but if you keep chasing what's perfect, whether it's seating, whether it's lanes, whether it's architecture, you'll never actually put a shovel in the ground," he said.
"And I think what we've got now is better than good, is better than great."
Hamilton encouraged council to vote in favour of the costlier option to make the rec complex "a point of community pride, bring prestige to the city" and show the rest of the region and the province what Cambridge has when it comes to sport and culture.
Coun. Mike Devine agreed, saying it's time council moved ahead on something "that's been beaten to death," adding it is by far the best option for the community.
He cautioned, however, that the city is maxed out financially and won't be able to accommodate any more requests.
"This is something that will allow the city to grow and prosper and be well," said Coun. Corey Kimpson. "I'm excited to get this going."
Mayor Jan Liggett said she thinks it's a wise choice, leading into a unanimous vote that concluded with a round of applause.
The approval sends the architect and consultant back to work on the schematic design phase, which includes finalized square footage and budget, any aspects to be considered during a "micro-engagement" survey of the community, and a few council requests for amenities.
The next phase will also include Indigenous communications, another community information centre, coordination of design with the school boards and region for the East Boundary Road adjacent to the site.
Tenders could be issued as early as next June to have a contractor in place and shovels in the ground as early as July 2024.
The consultant expects the new recreation complex will be open to the public in September 2026.
Among the delegations who made a convincing argument for the 10-lane pool design was Ron Campbell, retired Cambridge Aquajets swim coach and Cambridge sports hall of famer.
He went into detail about the configuration efficiencies of a square 25-metre pool and said 10-lanes allow for cross programming.
"I just think it would be a game changer to have 10 lanes," Campbell said, telling council a facility of that size will also make a huge difference in revenue.
Campbell said larger swim clubs spend upwards of $50,000 a year to rent a 50 metre pool and said a 3-day meet at a big city 50-metre pool would cost "easily" $100,000.
He estimates the city could charge about $20,000 to host a three-day meet at a 25-metre, 10-lane pool and said meets are booked a year to two years in advance.
Shelly Fitzpatrick, a teacher and coach of the Galt Collegiate Institute swim team, who also manages meets for the Aquajets, said a 10-lane pool would be a great investment for the club, the city and region as a whole.
She said it's becoming increasingly difficult for local high schools to book pools for swim meets and practices.
The club is forced to book its junior level meets at the Wayne Gretzky Centre in Brantford or the Wilmot Recreation Complex.
Cambridge schools have to travel to Kitchener or Waterloo to swim each week, she said.
Having a 10-lane pool in Cambridge would make it the only one between Toronto and Windsor, and "extremely attractive for regional, provincial, high school WCSSAA, CWOSSA and inter club meets."
It would bring thousands of swimmers and their families from across the province, generating spin off revenue in local hotels, restaurants and retailers, she said.
Project manager Shane Taylor called the decision "a big step in our city's history" in presenting the concept design and budget approval package, saying there was a lot of anticipation around tonight's council decision.
It's a decision that concludes decades of talk and decade of work that kicked off in 2014 with a recreation feasibility study.
In the decade that followed, the city consulted the public several times, changed locations, expanded the project's scope, shrank the scope, reconsidered needs and finally landed on a location in 2019, in the Southpoint subdivision off Dundas Street South.
Chris Clysdale appeared before council to explain the city didn't have enough space for recreational activities when his kids were active in local sports because decisions weren't made when they should have been.
He said he's a typical Cambridge resident in not knowing as much as he would have liked to have known about the political process, but said that apathy got pushed aside tonight knowing the city has wasted a significant amount of time by not making decisions and not moving forward. It has cost taxpayers dearly, he said.
"I'm sick and tired, as a member of the community, at seeing everything get downscaled constantly."
"Eventually I'm going to have grandkids and I want to be able to put them in swimming. I don't want to hear they can't because there aren't enough lanes for you."
Coun. Mike Devine thanked Clysdale for "giving us a scolding," a sentiment that was echoed by Coun. Corey Kimpson.
"I just don't want council to get caught up in things that are irrelevant to this," Clysdale added before urging, "Don't sacrifice on the size of the basketball courts and don't sacrifice on the swimming pools. This is what we need."
