The Ma-te-Way Aquatic Centre Development Project non-profit group wants to keep the matter of a major donation towards a public pool in Renfrew clear.
They held their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, July 18th, where they met with new and returning members and discussed their activities over the past year.
They also discussed their main responsibility in the Ruth Burwell fund, which was last estimated to sit at around $170,000 and be used to help cover the cost of developing an aquatics centre for the town.
Despite previous reports, MADCP President and Director Leo Hall explains that a $300,000 contribution towards the pool was actually handed over to the Town of Renfrew itself, and not them.
Regarding the Ruth Burwell fund, Hall says that it actually managed to weather a bad year for investments in 2022, only suffering a minor loss well below what the average portfolio suffered last year.
Despite years of disappointment and concern over the lack of push from the Town on the matter, Hall says that the citizen-led non-profit group understands that they will likely need to play the long game to reach their goals in the wake of the Ma-te-Way Centre Expansion.
According to Hall, the feeling in the room on Tuesday was that the public’s desire for a community swimming pool was not being heard loud enough, despite the time and effort put into it.
However, he’s also quick to note that town-sponsored surveys have consistently shown that the desire for a pool in Renfrew is still there.
On top of that, the upcoming review of Renfrew’s Official Plan, the master document covering the future of the town’s growth and development, will give them ample opportunity to make that clear to town council.
Ultimately, Hall believes ongoing growth in and around Renfrew makes a public pool an inevitability, even if it’s still likely well down the road.
(written by Kasey Egan)
