At this week’s Teviot Valley Community Board public forum, Ida Macdonald Roxburgh Pool Punawai Ora committee members, Rick Kristel and Raymond Gunn said the committee could not attract committee members or lifeguards.
There had been no response to calls for committee members and the present committee could fold next year, as the members had been focused on fundraising and building the pool, not running it.
The committee was not able to build up funds for future maintenance and repairs, he said.
Mr Kristel said they were following Poolsafe New Zealand guidelines.
"Thirty years ago you might have got away with a parent watching everyone, but not now."
The committee was potentially liable if there were accidents and that was another reason people were unwilling to take it on, he said.
Mr Kristel said Roxburgh had a fob system, but the holder had to be over-18,
, which defeated the committee’s intention of creating a safe place for young people to swim.
He said with that being the case, there was a risk young people who could not use the pool might go to the river, which was much more dangerous. Gunn, who was the community board delegate to the pool committee for 10 years, said former Mayor Tim Cadogan had discussed council ownership of the pool with the committee during the districtisation process.
"I was sceptical about handing it over . . . but after two years of trying to get lifeguards and the rules being completely different from 20 years ago, we’re in the gun if anything happens."
Board chairman Norman Dalley said they had been handed a ‘hot potato" and the board’s interest was the $250,000 they had loaned to the pool committee.
"The council owns the land and the [pool] trust owns the pool. Our interest lies with the reserves we committed - the $250,000 was a loan."
Board member Mark Jessop agreed.
"It’s not our problem."
Mr Dalley said the board could not make a decision without consulting the community about the rates increase that would come with handing over the pool.
Ratepayers would be repaying the loan as well as the extra rates for running the pool.
Mayor Tamah Alley said they could ask the community through the long-term plan consultation process, if they were prepared to pay for it .
However, time was tight for that deadline and council chief executive Peter Kelly said the draft budget had to be with the auditors in January.
The board agreed to recommend to council the potential pool handover be a consultation item in the 2025-34 draft long-term plan.
