TREENA MIELKE/Rimbey Review
Generous donations and grant funding are the primary reasons Rimbey town council does not have to concern itself with sinking in deep financial waters to keep its partially completed $3.2 million pool afloat.
Ponoka County recently donated $500,000 to the cost of the pool, bringing its total contribution up to one million dollars.
The Rimbey Lions have also been very financially supportive of the pool project and have at least $27,000 earmarked for the project with monies continuing to come in.
Money has come from various sources including bottle drives, donations and cash raffle held in March.
“The Lions are proud to serve Rimbey and area for 65 years and we thank the community for their continued support,” said president Lion Michelle Oberhammer.
Contributions for the pool have also come from Newcart Safety, who contributed $5,000.
Mayor Sheldon Ibbotson and Coun. Gail Rondeel met with Ponoka County council at its Tuesday meeting to thank them for their financial support.
“It is a huge benefit to the town,” Ibbotson said.
“We very much appreciate it.”
The mayor noted the county contributed close to one third of the funding for the $3.6 million dollar pool.
Other funding came from the federal government through its RinC grant funds. In March the town received an additional $250,000 from the RinC program bringing those funds up to $1 million, which is the maximum a municipality is eligible to receive from the federal grant.
The town contributed approximately one million to the project through debenture borrowing which occurred last September.
They planned to borrow an additional million this year, but due to the contributions from outside sources, were able to confine their debenture to $250,000.
The outdoor swimming pool complex is to include a junior Olympic Five-lane outdoor pool, two hot tubs, a spray park and 4,600 square-foot office/change room.
Work on the pool continues with the target date of June 1 getting closer.
CAO Tony Goode said the cement needs to be poured around the deck, the spray park completed and the slide installed.
The pool’s liner is not to be installed until the temperature is above 15 degrees