Did You Know? - updated weekly

The District has been collecting frequently asked questions regarding the proposed Summerland Recreation Centre and the referendum process. Answers to these questions are available in the Frequently Asked Questions section of this webpage, but we are also providing the information on the District's Facebook page each week with a "Did You Know?" post. As the social media posts are shared, they will also be added to the News Feed section of this webpage.

Want to find us on social media? You can follow the District of Summerland on Facebook using the handle @SummerlandBC.
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Did You Know? - October 25

If you are eligible to vote in the Summerland Recreation Centre Referendum, but will be out of town or unavailable on General Voting Day (November 4), there are 2 other opportunities for you to participate!

Wednesday, October 25, 2023 (Today) | 8 am – 8 pm
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 | 8 am – 8 pm

Advance and General Voting will take place at the Summerland Arena Banquet Room (8820 Jubilee Rd E).

Did You Know? - October 18

The District of Summerland has applied for a grant of up to $25M through the Green & Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program, to enable the construction of a net-zero carbon recreation centre, if Summerland electors vote in favour of the referendum question.

Developing a net-zero building would mean an overall increase in project cost, but receiving the $25M grant would significantly reduce the amount of borrowing required for the project, and reduce the impact to taxpayers. This is why the referendum question is asking if electors are in favour of the District borrowing “up to $50 million."

If the grant is unsuccessful, but electors vote in favour of the referendum question, the facility will still be built to modern energy efficiency standards (minimum LEED Silver).

The timing of the grant announcements for the GICB program is unknown at this time.

Did You Know? - October 11

Summerland’s population has nearly doubled since the original Summerland Aquatic & Fitness Centre was constructed in 1976. The lap pool and hot tub area have remained relatively unchanged, while the fitness centre had an expansion in 1996.

Based on extensive public consultation over the last six years, the community is now calling for a larger multi-purpose recreation facility that includes expanded aquatics (i.e., a leisure pool) and more dryland spaces with better accessibility features.

That’s why the proposed facility includes a more accessible lap pool, a new leisure pool, a fitness centre, universal access change spaces, and two multi-purpose rooms that can be used for fitness activities and youth/family activities and programming.

Did You Know? - October 4

The proposed Summerland Recreation Centre includes a new and expanded aquatic centre to serve Summerland’s growing population (which has nearly doubled since the original facility was built in 1976) and to address a number of restrictive issues faced by the current facility.

The proposed facility includes:

a 25m x 6-lane lap pool constructed to meet FINA standards
a leisure pool
hot tub
a sauna or steam room
universal access change spaces
energy efficient to LEED Silver standard

By adding a leisure pool to the aquatic centre (which the current facility does not have), the proposed facility would have additional capacity to better meet community demand for swim lessons, leisure swim time, aqua therapy sessions, and other aquatic programming opportunities.

Did You Know? - September 27

If Summerland voters vote in favour of the referendum question on November 4, the proposed facility will be built adjacent to the Summerland Arena & Curling Club (at 8820 Jubilee Road E).

The strengths of this site were identified as:

Avoiding a shutdown of the existing facility to construct a new one
Accommodating parking development without structured parking
Ability to create a sports "complex" for residents"
Ability to accommodate childcare in future phases

Additionally, the District can realize cost savings and increased energy efficiencies by taking advantage of heat recapture technology; harvesting surplus heat from the arena to assist in heating the Recreation Centre.

Did You Know? - September 20

The proposed Recreation Centre is approximately 60% larger than the current Summerland Aquatic & Fitness Centre. This is because Summerland’s population has nearly doubled since the original aquatic centre was built in 1976, and the community has called for additional amenities that cannot fit within the current facility’s footprint.

The additional amenities include: a new leisure pool; universal access change rooms; a multi-purpose fitness/activity room; and a multi-purpose youth/family room.

Did You Know? - September 13

In 2022, the Summerland Aquatic Centre hosted 884 school swim participants, including 687 students from Summerland, 99 from Penticton, and 58 from Outma Sqilx’w.

Did You Know? - September 6

Summerland’s Aquatic Centre is used by all 4 of Summerland’s schools for learn to swim programs, recreational swimming, and specialized private lessons for children with special needs. Some Penticton schools also use the Summerland facility for these types of programs, due to limited capacity at the Penticton Pool.

Did You Know? - August 30

The Summerland Aquatic & Fitness Centre is at end of life. Based on a 2018 Facility Condition Assessment, all the major building mechanical, electrical and pool systems have exceeded their expected usable life. The facility is consuming approx. 86% more energy per unit of floor area than the average swimming pool, and most of the building envelope is in poor condition with significant air and water leakage.

Based on public input that was received during the development of the 2018 Parks & Recreation Master Plan, the community indicated replacing the current facility was one of the highest priorities for residents. That’s why Summerland is going to referendum to vote on whether to borrow funds to construct a new multi-purpose Recreation Centre.