Orillia Recreation Centre Progress
By John Swartz
A recent tour of the new Orillia Recreation Centre looks like a mess inside, but compared to the same stage of development as Rotary Place in about 4 months it should be ready for the first swan dive. The director of parks recreation and culture, Ray Merkley, and Mayor Steve Clarke guided several people through, pointing out the features people won’t see when the finishes are installed.
The first of three leak tests have been applied successfully to the two of the pools, the third pool will get its first test shortly. While most of the rest of the facility looks like it’s a long way away from being ready for tiling, paneling and painting, there are places where one can see that work has already started.
Because the pool was built at the existing grade (and the facility rising above by two stories, it was possible to build a tunnel under the pool for equipment. This will help greatly in the future when maintenance or repairs have to be made since digging and tearing up won’t have to be done as happens with many other pool constructions.
The fitness room has an exercise staircase, of three degrees of difficulty for exercising built right into the foundation floor and walls. The track that goes around the gymnasium from above is in place and the speed bumps for part of it are ready to install.
Outside, tree planting has begun, and other landscaping is underway. The outdoor electronic entrance sign will soon be installed. Inside, the support structure for video score boards for both pool and gym are in place. Because the gym can be divided in two, the score board is in two pieces and mounts on a track so it can split and function as a score boards in each gym, or as a video display when connected as one piece.
The City also has the pricing structure for users in place. An all-in yearly pass will be $407 for adults, or $37 monthly. There is a fee schedule for day rates and function (pool/gym/etc.) rates. You can see the complete list here.
There are a number of job opportunities, and information on those is here. The City also has an aquatic instructor course being offered in the fall, which comes with a 50% lower cost and a job interview on completion. Contact jmair@orillia.ca.
(Video and Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia).
