• Mayor Lovatt has announced plans to build an additional pool at the Town’s Leisure Centre, located at 2 Park Drive.
  • Needed to help address growing demand, the pool would be built next to the Leisure Centre’s existing pool.
  • Design work is set to begin in 2025, with construction currently planned for 2027.
  • The project has a combined budget of $25 million, with $1 million allocated to design work next year.
  • Stouffville hopes to secure grant support from the Provincial and Federal governments to help cover construction costs.

 

The 2025 Budget Book reflects what many community members already know: Stouffville’s Leisure Centre pool is at capacity. Demand for access continues to grow, including increased interest in learn-to-swim classes, team training lane rentals, and other exercise and public pool programs.

Stouffville has included a new Leisure Centre in its 10-year Capital Plan, which will be included within future development lands along Highway 48. The project is scheduled for 2034 and is expected to cost nearly $140 million; however, it remains unfunded.

“Our Leisure Services Master Plan calls for another recreation centre to be built in Ward 1 with two more pools, but that isn’t scheduled to even be contemplated until 2031,” Mayor Lovatt said during the Nov. 6 Council meeting.

“We needed a second pool in 2006 when my family moved here and my kids were taking swimming lessons,” he added. “Now, they are in their mid-twenties, and the demand for lane time in our existing pool is through the roof.”

Lovatt noted potential cost-matching grant opportunities available through the Provincial and Federal governments, though many focus on shovel-ready recreation projects. As part of design work expected next year, “a consultant would be retained to evaluate the available lands and create construction documentation to support expansion,” the Budget Book notes.

“We need to examine every opportunity that comes before us to secure funding from any level of government,” Lovatt said. “Our investment of $1 million for the design of a second pool adjacent to our existing pool is our commitment to getting residents the pool time they want.”