Metropolis quietly pulls plug on floating swimming pool concept

Plans to construct a floating swimming pool within the St. Marys River are lifeless within the water, SooToday has realized. 

All references to the controversial pool are absent from a sequence of latest waterfront renderings ready for a joint assembly subsequent week of the Ontario Sault’s metropolis council and the Michigan Sault’s metropolis fee. 

“Pool has been removed,” stated some tremendous print on the backside of a map of a proposed $17-million redevelopment of Clergue Park.

Reached by SooToday this night, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker confirmed that metropolis employees have pulled the plug on the floating pool.

“Yes, the river pool feature has been removed from the waterfront development design plan,” Shoemaker stated.

“The conversation around it was beginning to overshadow the broader revitalization goals the city has on the table,” the mayor informed us.

The redevelopment plan for Clergue Park was authorised in precept by metropolis council final 12 months.

However, a extensively forwarded social media publish fueled opposition to the pool a part of undertaking.

“Our city doesn’t need a $17-million floating pool that risks turning into a homeless encampment within weeks,” the publish stated.

In reality, $17 million was the price of your complete Clergue Park redevelopment, not simply the in-river swimming pool.

The pool element of the undertaking can be lower than one-tenth of $17 million.

Monday’s joint assembly of municipal leaders from the dual cities will happen on the Ronald J. Irwin Civic Centre.

It might be live-streamed on SooToday beginning at 5 p.m.