Wanaka Mitre 10 workers Paul Tamati and Stu Grant were among many residents disappointed to learn this week Wanaka's proposed aquatic centre has been dropped from the 10-year-plan, which is to be considered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council next Tuesday.
They started a petition at Wanaka Mitre 10, and plan to make copies available at other places to collect as many signatures as possible before presenting it to the council on Tuesday.
The council has decided an indoor sports stadium and hard courts have a higher priority than a new swimming pool.
The sports facilities proposal was first raised in 2007.
Mr Tamati and Mr Grant think the council has made the wrong decision, especially given work began on plans for a new pool about eight years ago.
Both men have children who use or have used the 22-year-old community pool in Plantation Rd.
The pool is used year-round despite not being built with winter use in mind, and it struggles to cope with demand.
The men also disagreed with the council's stated preference of co-locating any future new pool with the indoor stadium at either a greenfields site near Ballantyne Rd or at the Wanaka Lakeview Holiday Park in the town centre.
They believed Kellys Flat was the best place for an aquatic centre because it was close to schools.
"We feel very strongly about it," Mr Tamati said.
"When I came into work this morning, people were saying, `Did you hear about it on the radio? How do we do something about it?'."
Wanaka Community Board member Jude Battson said yesterday she understood swimmers' frustrations.
She was on the working party that identified Kellys Flat as the preferred pool site and stands by that decision.
Ms Battson said pool users were genuinely looking forward to a new aquatic centre, and had hoped construction would proceed as soon as possible.
Ms Battson said she understood the Wanaka Community Board and the council had limited funds, were facing a recession and did not want to borrow money.
It now appeared the announcement a learners' pool might be built at the existing pool was "unfortunately, as good as it gets".
Ms Battson said if the petitioners did not get the pool included in the plan on Tuesday, they should try again when the plan is reviewed in three years' time.
The review in 2012 would be crucial because by then the community should have a better idea of how the recession had affected population growth and whether the community could keep up with demands for facilities, she said.
Main points
New pool plans in 2001 were costed out at about $1.7 million.
Another set of plans for an aquatic centre at the present site were unveiled in 2004, costing $4.35 million.
This year, the estimated costs of the Kellys Flat aquatic centre were $11.5 million.
The council now proposes to delay the aquatic centre for 10 to 15 years.
