SUNDRE – According to figures recently presented to council, usage of the Sundre Aquaplex was slightly up in 2023 over 2022.
Although 2024 year-end statistics were not yet available when a delegation from the Sundre and District Aquatic Society presented a report to council on Dec. 2, this year’s numbers were expected to be down a bit, said Blair Rushka, president, who was accompanied by Kari McQuaid, the facility’s manager.
However, the total number of visits in 2023 at the indoor pool facility that also includes a fitness centre had reached 47,189, up by more than 8,000 from the 38,938 recorded in 2022, per the report in council’s agenda package that’s available in-full on the town website.
That broke down to 16,436 visits at the pool in 2023, up a bit from 15,915 the year prior. The fitness centre reportedly had 25,049 visits last year, up nearly 6,000 from the 19,051 visits in 2022. Also included in the report was the number of visits to both the pool and the fitness centre, which reached 388 in 2023, up from 246 in 2022.
Rushka told council that about 47 per cent of the visits in 2023 were from town, with another 39 per cent coming from Mountain View County. A further five per cent came from Clearwater County, while nine per cent are reported as “other”.
The number of visits from Sundre was up to 22,157 in 2023 from 20,518 the year before, an increase of more than 1,600, whereas the number of visits from Mountain View County surged by nearly 5,000 to 18,576 from 13,728 in the same period.
According to financial statements included in the report, the facility had net assets of $1.73 million at the end of 2023, compared with $1.67 million in 2022. Revenue reports showed an increase to $624,571 in 2023, up from $520,116 the year prior. Expenses in 2023 reached $562,492, leaving a modest surplus of roughly $62,000, as compared with expenses that amounted to $577,942 in 2022 that at the time had left a deficit of nearly $58,000.
McQuaid covered some of the report’s highlights including an exhaustive list of not only all of the many repairs and upgrades that were tackled this past year, but also a snapshot of the available services such as a new aquasize fitness class that was added to the schedule.
Unlike the existing aquasize classes, she said the one that has been added is more “tailored to people with arthritis or suffering with specific conditions where they would benefit from a slower more therapeutic workout.”
Although too numerous to mention them all, among the projects completed in 2024 were: repairing leaks in the pool’s circulation system; fixing all of the emergency doors around the pool area that had rusted and were no longer properly sealed; maintaining and replacing fitness equipment such as treadmills as required; new computers for the office to replace some dated units; as well as some roof repairs.
But upkeep remains an ongoing challenge and Rushka outlined some anticipated expenses, such as resealing the entire building.
“The building is a cement slab wall,” he said. “They have seals in between the slabs and when it hits 30, 40 below you can pretty much see every seal because the frost is coming right through.”
The society has endeavoured to obtain quotes, but that process is no easy feat, he said.
Additionally, the HVAC system is more than 25 years old so there are concerns about its efficiency that are being investigated, he said.
And concerns about the HVAC system aren’t exclusively related to the hardware, but also the software that operates it.
“Our HVAC computer system can only be run on Windows 10 or older; we got a quote in February (2024) from Siemens, just for the new software update was $31,000,” he said.
“So, we didn’t do it.”
Also complicating matters is the increasing cost of utilities, which have gone up by approximately 35 per cent from 2021 to 2023, he said.
As a non-profit organization that strives to ensure the facility remains affordable for all, the society is reluctant to further increase membership rates after already bumping up the cost 10 per cent last year, he said.
Following the presentation, Coun. Chris Vardas asked about the statistics that include a reference of shower visits.
Rushka said people sometimes come into the facility just to use the showers for a cost of $5 and cited as an example the Sundre Pro Rodeo weekend when plenty of visitors are camping nearby and come in looking for a hot shower.
Coun. Jaime Marr sought to confirm whether the number of visits included a duplication of people who either have memberships, use punch card passes or just drop in, and Rushka confirmed that multiple visits are often from the same people.
Coun. Owen Petersen said he was impressed with all the work the society puts into keeping the facility operational with such razor thin margins.
Mayor Richard Warnock asked if the society had conducted a cost-comparison analysis of other facilities in places like Rocky Mountain House, Red Deer or even Olds.
McQuaid said rates at other facilities are regularly checked, but added most are only pools while the Aquaplex is a bit more unique since it also boasts an indoor fitness centre. So she said that in most cases, it’s not comparing apples to apples.
Council carried a motion accepting the report for information.
Visit www.sundreaquaplex.com for more information.
