North Peace Leisure pool survey shows moderate support for a new facility 

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — The latest survey presented to the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) shows moderate support for a new facility for the North Peace Leisure Pool replacement project.

Mickelson Consulting Inc. conducted and presented the survey results at the PRRD’s July 4th Special Committee of the Whole Meeting.

The survey was conducted among residents of Fort St. John, District of Taylor, PRRD Areas B, and C to gain insight into the preferred mix of amenities at a cost that residents in the jurisdictions will accept.

Therese Mickelson, managing partner at Mickelson Consulting Inc. said there was general agreement that the existing facility infrastructure is failing and that a new facility is required. 

A total of 68 per cent supported a new facility, and 32 per cent said they did not support it.  

The survey also found that two 25-metre lap pools were preferred rather than a 50-metre lap pool.

Fort St. John showed the strongest support, with 73 per cent of phone surveys and 80 per cent of online responses saying they are likely to use the new facility. 

Almost 70 per cent of PRRD Area C participants both over the phone and online said they were likely to use the facility.

The other jurisdictions had mixed support both above and below 50 per cent. 

Mickelson noted there were also significant concerns about the project costs and its impact on property taxes, with the preferred tax increase range being a maximum of $30 to $40 a month. 

“There was moderate support for a monthly increase of up to $40. But I say that very moderate, there’s significantly less comfort as that monthly tax amount increases,” said Mickelson

There was also broad support for possibly pursuing alternative funding, such as sponsorships and partnerships to keep taxpayer costs down.

A total of five open houses were held with four being in person and one online. The phone survey had 500 respondents, and the online survey had 452 respondents. 

Area B Director Jordan Kealy said he attended one of the open houses and the consultants did a good job interacting with people, but the workshops did not present an option for people to say they did not want the facility.

“I heard that people wanted to say no, but you’re trying to keep them just focused on the option one, two, or three,” said Kealy. 

Mickelson says people were given the option by writing it on the worksheets. 

“What we did was we just asked them if they if we handed out the worksheets to them and we said ‘if you don’t support it, no problem, just write it on the worksheet,’” said Mickelson.

Other takeaways from the survey included participants needing assurance that the project will not go over budget, considering more options to reduce costs, and more. 

The PRRD was presented with several options for the next steps in the project, and will decide how to move forward at a future meeting.

According to the PRRDs Phase Three engagement summary report, the board hopes to hold a referendum for project funding in the fall of 2024.

If the majority of residents vote to secure funding, the PRRD will proceed to the design and construction stage, with construction projected to start in 2026. 

The full report can be viewed below: