Hauraki District Council has delayed a decision on an unbudgeted $285,000 Waihī swimming pool repair bill, with Mayor Toby Adams calling for “tough conversations” with the Ministry of Education.

The pool, at Waihī College, is owned by the ministry but is leased and operated by council, which has all cost responsibility as it is used by the community.

Multiple issues plague the pool, including an urgently needed new chlorine system as the existing one caused an evacuation last year.

Leaks and poor surface conditions have shone a spotlight on who should be responsible, and if council should buy the pool.

Developments for shared spaces with government departments take time, Adams said, especially when “they haven’t got the funds to do stuff like that but they want the benefits”.

“We’ve got two challenges: can we get a long-term lease on a piece of land or take ownership of it and if the school is ready to relinquish what that asset is ... you take that ownership up because you’ve invested community funds into it.”

Hauraki mayor Toby Adams is keen to see the pool land in council’s hands. Photo / Christel Yardley, Waikato Times

Adams said the main advantage is being able to invest in an asset the council owns.

“It’s been a great facility for the community to be able to use but we keep investing in something that we’ve got no control over. Not to say the school would, but they could renege or the ministry could say ‘see you later, we’ll take it back now’.”

Council footing the entire bill for a pool it does not own didn’t sit right for some. Councillor Stephen Crooymans said he’d tell the ministry to “fix their own pool”.

Cr Neil Gray said the council should build a like-for-like replacement, saying the pool has reached the end of its life.

Even as a self-described pool lover, councillor Neil Gray said Waihī's isn’t worth saving. Photo / Kelly Hodel, Waikato Times

“I can’t put my hand on my heart and go out to ratepayers saying ‘hey we’re doing the best we can for you’... this is not an asset, it’s a liability.”

Group manager service delivery, Adrian de Laborde the ministry’s “priority is classrooms, not pools”. Adams noted the Paeroa and Ngātea pools were salvaged from a perceived end-of-life stage.

The pool’s impact on the community cannot be understated, Adams told Local Democracy Reporting, saying it provides a platform for those in coastal areas not just to rely on the ocean to learn how to swim.

The council has been “band-aiding” the pool’s problems for a year, group manager service delivery Adrian de Laborde says. Photo / Kelly Hodel, Waikato Times

“[It] helps save lives but the health benefits are massive. Not everyone can get out there and run the streets but everyone can get in there and walk in the pool.“

A decision whether to fund the immediate upgrades and to explore buying the pool will be made at the council’s extraordinary meeting on July 27.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.