SEAPARC is all tiled up and ready to go for the summer.
The leisure centre reopened after being shut down for a month to upgrade the leisure pool and surrounding area with tiles.
“(Before) it was a painted bottom surface that had some grit in it, so every two to three years we were having to repaint the bottom and redo it. It caused a lot of headaches for us,” said SEAPARC aquatic programmer Elizabeth Olsen.
Besides the frequent maintenance, the surface was also slippery. Olsen said looking out from her office she would often see people slipping and falling.
“We went to the commission and asked for the funds to do this, and they supported us tiling the bottom. So now this has about a 50-year life span.”
Prior to the latest retrofit, the lap pool and hot tub had also undergone a similar process with tiles a few years ago. It has been part of a long list of improvements that was helped by a $1.2 million grant from the B.C. Infrastructure Program, SEAPARC manager Larry Hutchings said.
“We refurbished the old arena dressing rooms, new doors, benches, ceiling tile, we replaced all the plumbing fixtures with low-flush toilets. We did the same with the public bathrooms.”
These were all things that had been on a long to-do list since the pool first opened 10 years ago, but were put on hold due to costs, he said.
Other additions completed with the grant include new office space, a new staff room, and heating and mechanical upgrades to the ice rink. Those were done in February.
“(The renovated pool is) really light and bright, people are saying it feels good on their feet. We’ve had no issues so far since we opened about slippage, so we’re really happy,” Olsen said.