North Peace Leisure Facility Replacement Project
The North Peace Leisure Pool is aging and its infrastructure is failing, resulting in service interruptions and other impacts on pool users. We have been working on a plan for how we're going to replace the pool based on a solution that suits our community, including offering broader recreational activities for our residents.
Developing Facility Options and Cost Estimates
The PRRD completed two rounds of community engagement to learn about the types of amenities residents in the four partner jurisdictions want to see at a new facility. The results were consistent across all of the communities. Overall, the primary message was strong support for a new multi-purpose facility that includes both aquatic amenities and indoor recreation spaces.
We used this input to develop several facility options with a mix of different amenities and then we went out for cost estimates. Unfortunately, the costs were higher than anticipated, and we are concerned about the impact on taxpayers. Before we decide next steps, we want to hear from residents in the four partner jurisdictions (PRRD Areas B and C, Fort St. John and Taylor).
A project update is being mailed to affected residents, and an overview of the facility options, estimated costs and other details about the project is outlined below under Facility Options.
Share your ideas.
We’re inviting residents in the four partner jurisdictions to participate in a two-hour workshop to discuss the facility options and costs. Our goal is to understand the best mix of amenities balanced with cost. Your input will contribute towards the development of a final option for a new facility.
We’re hosting in-person workshops in each community and two virtual workshops. You’re welcome to sign up for the one that works best for you.
To register for a workshop, visit prrd.eventbrite.com.
Can’t make it to a workshop? No problem – we’ll prepare a workshop summary and post on this page to share what we learned along with our next steps.
Questions? You can reach out using the Questions tab below.
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Additional workshops and participation opportunities
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The Peace River Regional District has added an additional virtual workshop event for the North Peace Leisure Facility project, on April 25, 2024 from 7:00pm to 9:00 pm (MST).Register for the newly added virtual workshop: prrd.eventbrite.com
In addition to the seven workshops held across the region, the PRRD is also hosting a series of open houses in May and conducting a community survey. The presentation for the virtual workshops is being recorded and will be posted on the Have Your Say project page.A new multi-use aquatics and recreational facility is being considered to replace the existing North Peace Leisure Pool. Using input shared by our communities, several options for a new facility and cost estimates have been developed. The Peace River Regional District, together with the City of Fort St. John and District of Taylor, are currently engaging residents to discuss these options in the four partner jurisdictions (Areas B and C, Fort St. John and Taylor).
The workshops have capacity limits as they are designed to provide participants with time to ask questions and share their input. To enable this type of comprehensive engagement, participants work with a facilitator in virtual breakout rooms and the capacity limits respect the number of facilitators on hand.
If residents are unable to attend a workshop, the Regional District has ensured that several participation opportunities are available for residents to provide feedback- The open houses are happening in May along with a community survey, which will provide additional opportunities for input.
- The presentation for the virtual workshops is being recorded and will be posted on the Have Your Say project page.
- Residents can provide feedback at any time by submitting questions via the project page, or by emailing a member of the project team.
The costs being presented for this community engagement are rough estimates based on the best available information given the current stage of planning. As this project would require borrowing money, it would be subject to a voting process through a referendum; if even one jurisdiction votes against the project, it would be paused and reassessed.No final decisions on taxation have been made at this point in time.
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About the Project
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkThe Peace River Regional District (PRRD), City of Fort St. John and District of Taylor have partnered to determine the future of the North Peace Leisure Pool and how best to address regional aquatic and other recreational service needs going forward.
The pool has served our region for generations. It provides fun, recreational activities for all ages. Generally, the pool hosts more than 100,000 individual visits annually, primarily from Fort St John, Taylor and the neighbouring PRRD communities (Electoral Areas B and C). That’s about 3.5 visits for every resident in the North Peace region.
Over the past decade, the North Peace Leisure Pool has been plagued with a variety of maintenance issues. Continual, repeated shutdowns of various pool features and shutdowns of the entire facility have negatively impacted community use of the pool. Ongoing capital and operating costs continue to increase due to these problems. We are also a growing community and the pool is no longer able to meet emerging community needs.
Working together, the four partners have started a planning process that included asking residents what they want in a new facility, and we have used this input to develop a mix of options for a new facility that reflect community priorities.
To date, there have been two rounds of community engagement to help determine the types of amenities residents in the partner jurisdictions want to see at a new facility. Results of the engagement were consistent across all participating communities. We heard strong support for a multi-use facility featuring both aquatic amenities and indoor recreation spaces. The following is an overview of some of the combined input from residents:
For more information on previous engagements, please refer to the public engagement reports available in the sidebar.
Project Timeline
- 2018: Public engagement – define vision
- 2019-2021: Project paused due to pandemic
- 2022: Public engagement – amenity priorities
- 2023: Feasibility study to develop options and assess costs completed and presented to project partners
- 2024: Public engagement – Input on best mix of amenities and cost
Project Partners
The PRRD (Areas B and Area C), City of Fort St. John and District of Taylor are working together to explore options for a new or renovated facility to serve the North Peace region.
