It could be a little while longer before renovations begin at the Stephane Lecours Swimming Pool in Hearst. CAO Eric Picard says the project came in $4 million over budget and the town is currently working with the engineer and contractor to look at ways of saving more money.
“Covid kind of had its hand in that because when we had started originally in 2019, the prices were we were on budget of the $4.7 million,” he said. “We were doing all of the mechanical work and a bit more, but now we can’t open the pool again until this is finished.”
Picard says everything from A to Z needs to be replaced before the pool can be reopened. It’s been closed for the past year and a half.
“A lot of the components are the original components the pool had when it was built,” he said. “So they’re over 30 years old, the pump system the filtration system, the pipes have to be replaced to go up to code.”
Meantime, renovations to the ice plant at Claude Larose Arena are nearly complete with ice going in next month.
The total cost of renovations to both the arena and swimming pool is $8.1 million with the federal and provincial governments contributing over $3.7 million in grants to the project.
