Council will introduce changes to aquatics operations in the 2024/2025 season (7 December 2024 to 10 March 2025) in an attempt to reduce operating costs.
The Daylesford swimming pool will be open on weekends and school holidays from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm except Christmas Day and New Years Day. Outside the school holiday period, the pool will be open from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. As in previous years, entry to the Daylesford Pool and other pools in the Shire is free.
Under the changes, the pool will will only be open for three days, instead of five, during school term. It will open an hour later and close an hour earlier than in previous years.
The Shire has a pool weather policy which means that the pool will be closed on any day that the forecast temperature for the Balllarat Region is 21°C or below.
In previous years, the weather policy has resulted in pool closures on about one third of scheduled opening days. This means that with the reduced days of operation, the pool is likely to be open for about 51 days over the summer.
Council also operates pools in Trentham and Clunes, along with a Splash Park and Toddlers pool in Creswick. For information about other pools and unforeseen changes to pool operations, for example closures due to reactive maintenance or vandalism, check the council website website at hepburn.vic.gov.au/Places-activities/Parks-and-recreation/Swimming-pools. Information about pool closures under the weather policy is posted on the Council Facebook page on the previous day.
The VicSwim “Learn to swim” program will be offered again in the 2024/2025 season and Council will explore opportunities for events and other pool activation.
Council has made a significant investment in pool improvements, with over $320,000 invested in pool repair works prior to opening this season. This work includes leak remediation at all outdoor pools, painting of Clunes, Daylesford and Trentham outdoor pools, installation of a new backwash and pool operation system at Calembeen Park Toddler Pool, and compliance works at all aquatic facilities.
The reduction in pool hours and days will result in a reduction in staffing costs of about 17% but will not affect fixed operational costs (chemicals, power) which are required regardless of whether the pools are open. Pool operational costs are typically about $500K per year.
Bradley Thomas, Hepburn Shire Council CEO, said, “Changes to operations, in particular a reduction to opening times, is based on analysis of previous patronage data and anticipated community peak use.”
“When we were developing our Financial Vision, we looked at every Council service to see whether we could find efficiencies. As we continue this work to review services and implement our financial vision, we anticipate some ongoing changes to our service delivery to make them more efficient and cost effective for our community.”
“We are committed to keeping you informed of service changes. The changes we are making to pool hours will enable us to be more efficient and deliver services in a cost-effective way by opening when there is the most demand,” said Mr Thomas.
This article is based on a media release by Hepburn Shire Council.
