{"id":251268,"date":"2020-01-22T18:40:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T08:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=251268"},"modified":"2020-07-13T12:33:32","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T02:33:32","slug":"residents-push-for-new-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/01\/22\/residents-push-for-new-pool\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents Push For New Pool"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Goomeri Pool has a chequered recent history … it was damaged during the Australia Day floods in 2013. Council workers and pool managers worked hard to get the pool back in shape but it did not re-open until the following swimming season (Photo: Goomeri Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

January 22, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is “highly unlikely” the beleaguered Goomeri Pool – currently closed – will reopen before September.<\/p>\n

A Gympie Regional Council spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that Council had been advised significant work was required to rectify backwash and filtration system issues to make sure the water quality was safe for swimmers.<\/p>\n

Goomeri resident Toni Jeavons has called for local residents to join her outside the pool at 4:00pm on Friday as part of a campaign to press for a “recreational water play park” to be built in the town.<\/p>\n

She plans to launch a petition on Tuesday which will be sent to the GRC calling for the proposal.<\/p>\n

Copies will be placed in shops around town.<\/p>\n

The Council spokesman said the Goomeri Pool was an important piece of social infrastructure for the community.<\/p>\n

“While the work is being carried out, council will engage with the Goomeri community to understand their needs for this facility,” he said.<\/p>\n

Suggestions a secondhand pump is to blame for the repeated closures at the pool are incorrect, according to Council.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“A reconditioned pump was purchased some years ago to fit the specification requirements of the Goomeri pool,” the spokesman said.<\/p>\n

“As the pool is an older piece of infrastructure, new parts are not produced or available for this model.<\/p>\n

“This reconditioned pump continues to work well and is not related to the repeated failures. The issue surrounds the filtration and backwash system.”<\/p>\n

The spokesman said the GRC had hired a consultant to assess the level of works required to fix these issues.<\/p>\n

“Once the findings have been presented by the consultant, Council will have a clearer indication of the exact cost and timeframe required to rectify them,” he said.<\/p>\n

He said Council currently had no plans to build a water play park “in the foreseeable future”.<\/p>\n

“However as part of the process to repair the Goomeri Pool, once the consultant provides Council with its findings, Council will be engaging with the Goomeri community to understand what their requirements are for the facility,” he said.<\/p>\n

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Goomeri resident Toni Jeavons … organising a petition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toni Jeavons told southburnett.com.au she moved to Goomeri in February last year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since then, she has found the local pool closed a number of times.<\/p>\n

“I love the pool. I miss the water, probably because I was on the coast for 20 years,” she said.<\/p>\n

She hopes now she can do something about fixing the problem, because she has done it before – at the last town she lived in.<\/p>\n

“In 2013, I petitioned the town of Roma and got a water park for them there,” she said.<\/p>\n

She’s hopeful of achieving a similar outcome in Goomeri.<\/p>\n

Toni said the Goomeri Pool had been “neglected and ignored” by the GRC for years.<\/p>\n

“Goomeri Pool has now been closed without providing the townspeople with a future plan to have it reopened,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The people of Goomeri have finally had enough, we will not be neglected and treated as secondhand citizens in the Gympie region any longer.<\/p>\n

“The Goomeri Pool is the only public facility in the town where people can go to socialise, have fun and cool off in the summer heat.<\/p>\n

“The pool also promotes community friendships, happiness, health and wellbeing. The families enjoy the swimming and club nights as well as the water aerobics.<\/p>\n

“The people of Goomeri are only asking for what the people of Gympie received, a ‘Recreational Water Play Park complete with caf\u00e9, outdoor swimming pool, water play area and a much-needed gym’. This facility will also open up a lot of possibilities and employment opportunities.”<\/p>\n

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