Hello Supporters,

Vancouver City Council will be asked to approve the extra $22m needed to complete the 25m VAC renewal plan on June 18th at 9:30 am.

Agenda (Report #2: 2025 Quarterly Capital Budget Adjustments and Closeouts)

This is our chance to let City Council know how the community feels about the Park Board plan that:

·        Proposes to spend $170m to create a leisure centre with a diminished lap pool, but a hot tub 14X the size of the current hot tub, and a lazy river

·        Ignores the 2022 Plebiscite where over 100,000 Vancouver voters voted for a 50m pool renewal

·        Ignores this Petition with over 15,600 signatures

·        Ignores the 2019 VanSplash report that recommended a 50m competition pool for the VAC after years of public consultation

·        Was in development by the Park Board for 3 years but not revealed to the public until February, without prior consultation, and with an air of sudden urgency, and a “take it or leave it” approach

·        Will result in the closure of our only 50m pool

·        Will result in the loss of use of yet another Vancouver pool for 3-5 years during the construction which will affect all pool users in the City

Please let City Council know that approving the extra funding for this leisure centre plan will cause irreparable harm to all of us who use the VAC for lap swimming, aquafit, swimming lessons, rehabilitation, life saving instruction, water polo, underwater hockey, and masters and youth swimming training, during the closure and afterwards. No plan has been put forward by the Park Board for accommodation of the current VAC users other than the suggestion that all could be sent to Hillcrest.

This plan is not good enough, and is not worthy of the world class city Vancouver is.

The Park Board must return to the drawing board and provide a plan that complies with the mandate given to them by the voters.

Please sign up to speak at the meeting here.

Send your comments to the Councilors here.

Email the Mayor and Councilors:

Ken Sim: ken.sim@vancouver.ca

Rebecca Bligh: CLRbligh@vancouver.ca

Lisa Dominato: CLRdominato@vancouver.ca

Pete Fry: CLRfry@vancouver.ca

Sarah Kirby-Yung: CLRkirby-yung@vancouver.ca

Mike Klassen: CLRklassen@vancouver.ca

Pete Meiszner: CLRmeiszner@vancouver.ca

Brian Montague: CLRmontague@vancouver.ca

Lenny Zhou: CLRzhou@vancouver.ca

Sean Orr: CLRorr@vancouver.ca

Lucy Maloney: CLRmaloney@vancouver.ca 

Thank you.