July 1 was a day to celebrate in the southeast region and across the country, thanks to Canada鈥檚 150th birthday. Several communities in the southeast region held events to mark the milestone.
Midale residents had another reason to celebrate, thanks to the opening of the town鈥檚 swimming pool for the first time in nearly two years.
Mayor Allan Hauglum said the pool wasn鈥檛 open at all in 2016, because of some significant issues. The town didn鈥檛 realize those issues were so significant until last year.
鈥淚t didn鈥檛 give us enough time to do any major work to get it ready for last year,鈥� he said.
Cement was crumbling inside of the swimming pool, so the pool deck needed to be resurfaced.
鈥淭he pool deck itself needed some tender loving care as well,鈥� said Hauglum. 鈥淭here were spots that were broken up, and the cement was broken, and the deck was not level from many years of summer and winter weather.鈥�
Last summer Hauglum approached the town鈥檚 council of the day and stressed they needed the pool in the town. It鈥檚 a valuable facility for children, since it鈥檚 outdoors and a place where kids can be active.
鈥淵ou lose one facility like that, it鈥檚 just the start of the death of your town, if you don鈥檛 keep them up and have them there,鈥� said Hauglum. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to lose anything in a small town.鈥�
Council agreed to provide some support for the pool鈥檚 restoration.
Dennis McIndoe stepped forward last year to help the pool restoration move forward. He wasn鈥檛 on council at the time, but was elected to council in the October 2016 civic election.
鈥淒ennis and I got at it, and got quotes for the cement to refinish the surface of the inside of the pool, and we got that done last year,鈥� said Hauglum.
The resurfacing was finished last fall. They didn鈥檛 want to do any other projects, including the painting, until this spring. The work needed to reopen the pool has now been completed.聽
鈥淲e put a rubber paving around on the deck, and that stuff is amazing,鈥� said Hauglum. 鈥淚t just finished everything off so nicely. Once that was done, we painted the pool and got it all primed.鈥�
The town received the green light to open the pool on June 30.
Hauglum believes people missed having a swimming pool last year, and it shows in the number of people who have used the pool since it reopened. About 30 children were swimming at the pool on Canada Day, even though there were a lot of people out of town for the long weekend or attending Canada Day festivities at the nearby Mainprize Regional Park.
He estimated another 30 were at the pool the following day. It was packed on July 3.
鈥淓verybody loves it,鈥� Hauglum said with a laugh. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 heard anything bad. People are just amazed with what it looks like. It鈥檚 hard to believe it鈥檚 the old pool that鈥檚 been refurbished.鈥� 聽
The recurring praise he has heard is the pool is inviting. It looks like a place where people want to go swimming, or just lounge around and suntan.
People have come from Estevan to take a dip in the pool, he said, since there isn鈥檛 an outdoor pool in Estevan, and they have had visitors from other communities, too.
The renovations will likely cost approximately $90,000. In addition to the financial support from the town鈥檚 council, money came through grants, donations from individuals and groups, and fundraisers such as a 50-50 draw. Volunteer work helped keep the cost relatively low.
He said the biggest challenge in reopening the pool was trying to find lifeguards. They have a full-time lifeguard from Estevan and another lifeguard from Weyburn. Hauglum noted the lifeguard from Weyburn knew she wanted to work at the pool after seeing it.
The pool measures approximately 80 feet in length and 20 feet in width. It鈥檚 about 2.7 metres deep at its deepest point, and there is a diving board.
While it鈥檚 not wide enough for lane swimming, it is popular for swimming lessons.
鈥淲e have close to 60 kids registered for the first set of lessons, and there will likely be another set,鈥� said Hauglum. 鈥淭he first set of lessons comes up towards the end of July.鈥�
An aquasize program is offered at noon, and Hauglum expects other programs will be offered in the future.
Now that the pool is open again, Hauglum said the next task will be to reopen the paddling pool, which hasn鈥檛 been open for many years.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to refurbish it back to new again,鈥� said Hauglum.聽
While it won鈥檛 be fully completed this year, since he wants to see a rubberized surface applied, he is hopeful it can be open this summer.
鈥淲e really need the paddling pool, because we have such a young community out here,鈥� said Hauglum. 鈥淥ur community is very young again. There are lots of young families out here.鈥�
Eventually he would like to see a new swimming pool constructed, but it would cost about $1 million, and they don鈥檛 have the funds in place. He is optimistic the renovated swimming pool will give the community years of service, and when it needs to be replaced, they will have enough money.聽
