Coffs councillors reject motion to extend pool hours and lower entry fees

Is $6.90 too expensive for a swim at a public pool? And is 1pm an unreasonable time to expect swimmers to be out of the water, dried and dressed to leave?

Some members of the City of Coffs Harbour community think so, which is why Councillor Paul Amos raised the matter at last week’s council meeting.

Amos put a motion to the chamber to extend hours and reduce entry fees for Coffs Harbour, Sawtell and Woolgoolga swimming pools.

“This is something councillors have been promising the community and now it’s time to come good on the promise,” the councillor told the Mid North Coaster.

He said council was now in a position to take action and raise the service levels of the public pools. 

“We've got our operational aspect of council and our strategy. We as councillors, we operate at that strategic level. We set the platform, and then council staff make it happen,” Amos said.

During the discussion, concern was expressed by councillors that young families were being priced out of visiting a local pool.

However Amos was unable to persuade enough councillors to back him, with five voting against his motion and four in favour.

Let’s dive into the figures.

Hike in pool price

The Coffs Harbour War Memorial Olympic Pool has the highest fees in the City of Coffs Harbour. 

In 2022/23 a single entry for adults was $5.50. It is now $6.90, representing a rise of 25.5 percent in two years.

In 2022/23 a single entry for a child was $5. That is now $6.30, an increase of 26 percent.

The swimming pools in Sawtell and Woolgoolga used to cost an adult $5 and a child $4 in 2022/23 for a single entry. The fee has gone up to $6.20 for an adult and $5.70 for a child for this financial year.

That’s a 24 percent increase in price for an adult and a 42.5 percent increase for a child’s fee.

“We have to consider the current cost of living pressures and I think $6.90 for a single swim is too much to ask of our community,” Amos said.

Councillor Tony Judge echoed Amos, saying the council ought to help community members out in a time where cost of living is high. He said “families are finding it really hard to make ends meet”.

“I just think about a family with maybe three children that want to take them to the pool, and that extra cost at a time when their mortgages have gone up, I just think we need to give them a little bit of relief.”

Pools should be subsidised

Judge doesn’t agree with the user pays model when it comes to public pools, calling them “a basic service that council should be providing”.

“They're there for the community. The community should make a contribution towards the cost of keeping the pools open, but I think it's really unreasonable to expect them to bear the entire cost through admission fees.

“Let's get the pools open more frequently for greater hours, and let's bring the cost down to something that the community can genuinely afford.”

A three-month pass for adults at Woolgoolga and Sawtell swimming pools is $218, or $208 for children.

A 12-month pass at the Coffs Harbour facility for an adult is $786, and $745 for a child. The complex has an outdoor 50-metre solar heated pool, an indoor 25-metre pool heated to 29.5C and a toddler splash pad.

Unlike the others, it is open year round and closes between 5pm and 7pm, depending on the day.

Council’s website has four public swimming pools listed for the region, with the 25-metre outdoor Orara Valley Community Pool in Nana Glen managed by Valley Pool Services under contract with the council.

This facility is the cheapest option of the four, at $4.50 for a single adult pass and $3.50 for children.

Not enough time at the pool

In 2021/22 Sawtell and Woolgoolga swimming pools were open until 6pm during the week and 5pm on weekends. 

That was then changed to 1pm weekdays and 2pm on weekends. Since January 28 this year the hours have been extended to 5:30pm on Tuesday and Thursdays for Sawtell and Monday and Wednesday at the Woolgoola pool. Amos wants to see the extended hours applied to more days of the week.

During the debate at the council meeting it was discussed whether reducing fees would impact the possibility of longer hours.

Acting Director of City Planning and Communities, Ian Fitzgibbbon, said there “would be some consideration in terms of opening hours if the financial result for fees were reduced”.

“That's why … the recommendation from the staff is that a report be prepared so council can understand the financial and operational impact if fees were reduced,” Fitzgibbon said.

Are we happy to cut elsewhere?

Mayor Nikki Williams spoke against the motion saying while she was not opposed to the idea, it’s an issue that couldn’t be decided then and there. She said cuts to other services would likely be required if pool entry fees were reduced and opening hours extended.

“But are we going to put out on exhibition the other service we're cutting it from, and ask them if they're okay with that? Is it coming from the library? Is it coming from the museum? Is it coming from the gallery? Is it coming from our sporting fields? Where does it come from?”

Thumbnail image: (L) Orara Valley Community Pool, screenshot from website (R) City of Coffs Harbour council chambers, screenshot from website.