Centennial Pool – is there a city bylaw against thinking?

Undoubtedly a portion of the blame for the damage that will be done to the Whalers Swim Club, their programs and their ability to be competitive does lie with the contractor. However, despite their finger pointing, senior city staff and council must bear the largest portion of the responsibility for this debacle.

I am tired, make that disgusted, with the fact that in making poor decision after poor decision senior staff and council insist on pointing their fingers everywhere and at everyone else, refusing to accept their responsibility for the decisions they make.

Worse, in the case of Centennial Pool they spent the past three to four months assuring the Whalers Swim Club the pool would be ready. This behaviour has clearly taken the matter of Centennial Pool past poor judgement into incompetence.

At the time the contract was awarded questions were raised by many, except for senior staff and council, concerning accepting the low bid from an inexperienced pool tank builder. Why did the experienced pool builders think building costs would be so much higher than the inexperienced builder, as reflected by their bids? With the incredibly tight deadline for completion and the devastating impact failure to open on time would have on the Whalers Swim Club, why take the extremely high risk involved in awarding the contract to a company that had never built a pool before? Exactly how is “highly recommended” preferable to a track record of actual pool construction?

I do not know the answers to these and similar questions that were raised, because senior staff and council refused to address any questions. Whether this was because the questions were from the public, arrogance, the projected $600,000 savings were desperately needed to feed the voracious appetite the capital plan has shown for consuming City cash flow or simply a lack of judgment and common sense is also unknown.

I do know it is time Abbotsford City Hall was held accountable for its actions. Mark Taylor and any other senior staff involved in this clear lack of judgment should be fired. Since Abbotsford has chosen to lack any adequate alternative facilities it is the responsibility of the city to find and secure alternative training facilities, bear any difference in costs of these facilities and provide transportation or reasonable compensation for transportation to these other facilities. Current council’s “firing” must await the next municipal election. In the meantime they owe a public apology to the Whalers.

It is past time that Abbotsford City Hall stopped blaming everyone and everything else and accepted responsibility for the consequences of the decisions they make and actions they take