While the facility has been welcomed by the local community, some of its 55 staff have received concerning abusive behaviour while on duty.
A council briefing document on the first five months of the pools’ operation revealed the abuse and the steps the council had taken to keep staff safe.
“Unfortunately, we have had incidents of staff being abused by the public,” the paper said.
“These vary in severity; however, we have called the police three times to respond.
“Two people have been trespassed from the complex.
“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.”
The document said the incidents were at a similar level to what staff experienced at the former Olympic Pools.
Kiwa Pools aquatic manager Campbell Macgregor told The Gisborne Herald “it is disappointing for our hard-working staff to have to focus on behavioural management in areas that have been built for our whole community to enjoy”.
Macgregor said such behaviour affected “all council spaces” and not just the Kiwa Pools.
“There are opportunities for our frontline staff to undergo training that supports managing difficult situations,” Macgregor said.
“This training empowers our staff to understand situations that they might experience and allow them to be safe and keep our community safe within a council facility that is designed to support all of our community.
“As much as these incidents have increased, they are still the exception.
“At Kiwa Pools, like other council facilities across our region, we find our community is courteous and grateful to have this wonderful new pool complex to enjoy.”
The council briefing paper detailed the first five months of Kiwa Pools’ existence.
While pool water quality had remained “high”, the complex closed a handful of times due to contamination.
“There have been four closures because of faecal and vomit release incidents in the pools,” the paper said.
“The likelihood of these incidents occurring increases when there are high visitor numbers.”
There had been 59 “recorded incidents” on site that required minor first aid, and one ambulance visit,
“We have had one ambulance visit and 59 recorded incidents including minor first aid, rescues (wet and dry), fire alarms, slips, trips and falls.
“This is considered to be a normal level of incidents for a facility of this nature.”
Total income for the five months had been just over $474,000, with the annual forecast of the pool to be $1.2m.
Gisborne's Kiwa Pools has attracted big crowds since opening in September 2023. Photo / Paul Rickard
“Although Kiwa Pools opened later than anticipated, we are still on track to achieve the admission and revenue targets for this financial year,” the council paper said.
The annual Rhythm and Vines festival on the outskirts of Gisborne proved to be good business for Kiwa Pools. Photo / Supplied
But delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic pushed that back to September.
On its opening, mayor Rehette Stoltz thanked mana whenua, plus the Government for providing significant investment in the project - a cash injection of $40 million of a total $46m.
“It has been a long and sometimes very tough journey, but we got there,” she said.
“To our community, we deserve a complex like this.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
