MOUNT FOREST – Residents are $250,000 closer to a new outdoor pool at the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex thanks to their local Lions Club.
Presenting a $250,000 cheque to the Mount Forest Aquatics Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee during their Wednesday meeting, Lion Vern Job said supporting the pool construction is a decision the Mount Forest Lions Club "firmly believes in" as the Lions built the town's first pool in 1948.
"The Mount Forest Lions Club has a long history of support pools in our community," said Job, in a news release. "The Lions believe in making the community a better place and Mount Forest is a better place with an outdoor pool."
To be constructed beside the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex, the project is anticipated to cost $5.3 million and has a community fundraising goal of $2.5 million.
The remaining funds are anticipated to cost taxpayers $60 per year based on a $300,000 home.
Construction will begin once 80 per cent of the fundraising target is met. A previous report on the pool's timeline said the tender is to be issued in summer or fall 2025 with construction anticipated to start and end within 2026.
The committee has previously expressed fundraising difficulties due to competing initiatives and negativity surrounding the project.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
