Swimming Pool Group
This Working Group was formed because after decades of community being able to access the Magnetic Island Community and School Swimming Pool, this access was stopped and denied due to the cessation of funding from the Townsville City Council and management of this situation. The purpose of the MICDA Swimming Pool Working Group is to coordinate community access of the pool through liaison with the school.
To this effect, MICDA sought support and funding from the Townsville City Council (TCC) for a recurring yearly budget allocation of funds to enable management of the Community’s access to the pool through a specific proposal.
The proposal:
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Outlined the history for building and managing the pool and that it has always been also a ‘community’ pool which was built with fund-raising by community efforts primarily;
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Provided a mechanism for managing public access to the pool through MICDA; and
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Presented a budget essentially to pay for the costs of pool life-guards and public liability insurance.
The proposal is to open the pool for community use only for 2 hours a day for 7 days a week, and at times to be negotiated with other current commercial uses and school use. The Community has demonstrated an overwhelming support for their access to the pool and to get the funding from Townsville City Council with 1400 signatures on a petition that was submitted with the proposal. The petition was also organized by this working group.
MICDA Management Team presented the proposal and petition to Mayor Jenny Hill and Councillor Ann-Maree Greaney on July 22nd 2022. The proposal and petition was submitted to Council on its meeting of July 27th 2022. Now, at the end of September 2022, MICDA is still awaiting a response from the Townsville City Council.
GROUP COORDINATOR
Lea Scheri
