More funding had been found to ensure Waiuku’s Whiteside Pool can be fully repaired in time for next summer.
Franklin Local Board has agreed to divert $100,000 from budget allocated to upgrade the Pukekohe War Memorial Hall to enable permanent repairs to leaking pipes that saw the pool closed over one of the hottest summers of recent times.
The money will enable a waterpipe, concourse and retaining wall to be renewed, and board chair Andy Baker says the work will be completed in time to ensure there are no repeats of the closures that leaks caused early this year, disrupting swimming for locals.
“It’s not always ideal to divert financing from one project to another, but in this case the money will mean the pool can be repaired permanently, rather than in a temporary manner that might have meant more disruption in the future, not to mention costs.”
He says the Whiteside Pool is a higher priority for the board, given its important role in the Waiuku community.
“Fortunately, some of the work that is planned to upgrade Pukekohe’s town hall can be deferred for a short time and funded at a later date.”
Whiteside Pool is an outdoor aquatic centre open during in the summer months that has a main pool, a toddlers’ pool and a ‘learn to swim’ pool.
When they opened this summer, they started to use excessive amounts of water and two major leaks were found, causing the toddler and learn to swim pools to be closed, leaving only the main pool operating.
The Pukekohe War Memorial Town Hall work requires less renewal funding than first allocated because more time is needed to obtain seismic reports from engineers.
