A review of pool fees is planned, but Fort Frances town council is reluctant to provide a refund to the Cyclone Swim Club.
The club asked for an in-kind sponsorship for all of its pool time between September and June 2025.
In a letter to council, club officials state they were negatively impacted by the lengthy pool closure last season for improvements.
The club was able to secure time for its competitive swimmers at the pool in International Falls but could not accommodate time for its non-competitive members forcing it to refund registration fees.
The club start has been affected again with the pool shut down until September 23 to correct an issue with the pool deck.
Mayor Andrew Hallikas says the request concerns him.
“I think we’re setting a dangerous precedent if we start doing in-kind services for clubs that are charging a fee,” says Hallikas.
Councillor John McTaggart says he has sympathy for the club.
“I feel very badly for groups like this who are volunteer-run and really work hard at it. Covid hit them on the unfortunate closing of the pool. Hit them again. And the closing of the pool was a safety matter. We just couldn’t have it open. It had to be closed for those repairs. And it’s unfortunate, but we have to move ahead.”
The club also asked for a review of fees to bring them in line with other pools in the region.
Administration is planning to present a report on that in the next month.
