Smooth sailing at Kiwa Pools

Hundreds attended the official opening of Kiwa Pools last September. The facility has been a “huge success” the council’s operations committee was told on Thursday. Picture by Liam Clayton

Kiwa Pools, operating for the past five months, has proved popular with users and Gisborne District Council.

“We’re really thrilled,” liveable communities director  Michele Frey told Gisborne District Council’s operations committee on Thursday.

“Kiwi Pools have been a huge success for the community,” she said.

The complex had opened late but was on track to meet visitor and revenue targets, she said.

Aquatics manager Campbell MacGregor said in his report to the committee that total revenue earned was just over $474,000 while the annual forecast target was $1.2 million.

At the end of January there had been 120,000 admissions into the pools, comprising 100,000 individual admissions and 20,000 people as part of group admissions.

“We forecast 200,000 visitors per annum to Kiwa Pools and we are likely to exceed this forecast.”

Ms Frey said fees and charges would be reviewed after the summer.

The Learn to Swim programme would be reviewed after both six months and 12 months.

Mr MacGregor, replying to queries from Councillor Tony Robinson, said the fees and charges review would be done by July.

The Learn to Swim programme, run by an Australian company, had attracted strong public interest and the review would be done “relatively quickly”.

Mr MacGregor said finding local staff had been a challenge.

Responding to a query from Deputy Mayor, Cr Josh Wharehinga, Mr MacGregor said the company had employed a fluent te reo speaker, who after winning a nationally recognised scholarship, had travelled around the country for some months.

She “slotted back” into the Learn to Swim programme abut two weeks ago. She teaches toddlers.

Cr Rawinia Parata asked about incidents of staff being abused by pool patrons.

Mr MacGregor’s written report said the police had been called three times, resulting in two patrons being trespassed.

“Our staff have received de-escalation training and are well supported, but obviously we do not expect or tolerate our staff being abused by the  public.

“These incidents are at about the same level as we experienced in the Olympic Pool.”

Mr MacGregor told Cr Parata that staff used an “education philosophy” to patrons not respecting pool rules.

Patrons would be asked to leave “if they don’t want to be educated”.

“If they choose not to leave at that time, that’s when the police are called.”

Such patrons were “dangerous rather than destructive”, he said.

Whānau numbers were increasing and many people, in a new “super-exciting” trend, were staying all day.

That increased usage also increased the risk of bad behaviour.

Ms Frey said the old Olympic Pool was scheduled for demolition from April 10, the day after the complex closed for summer.

The demolition was expected to be “a reasonably swift process” with demolition taking a couple of months including the site being cleared and mediated for any future possible use.