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Community complex becoming ‘elitist’

The pool ceiling is finally coming down, but the cost of a drop-in pass is not coming down

The pool ceiling is finally coming down, but the cost of a drop-in pass is not coming down, even though there is no pool nor related facilities available.

The staff at the Nelson and District Community Complex informed me that since most people do not use all of the facilities, it makes sense to charge fitness centre users the same price as they did when the pool was open and available for use (along with the steam room, hottub, and shower facility). I find this to be very interesting logic.

As a regular rec centre user across BC, I can tell you that this is the first time that I have encountered a facility that continues to charge the same price for access when the pool is closed, as when it is open. The pool is half of the facility, and for those of us who want to enter to use the remaining services, one would logically think that the cost would be lower due to less services being available.  Not so in Nelson.

What other communities find sensible, which is reducing pass costs until the full facility is available, is not sensible in Nelson. In this town, you pay full price for half the service. Well, I for one and hopefully others will find other fitness facilities to exercise in, such as Selkirk College or other private facilities in town, because the lack of concern for public service at the publicly funded facility is simply astounding to me.

Should this facility continue to receive public tax dollars when public service is not their main goal? Why should users pay twice for use of the facility, once via taxes and again at the door? And above all, why should those of us who use only the weight room have to subsidize the hockey rink twice?

I normally support government services, but not when they become elitist and forget their main reason to exist:  to provide public access to fitness services — for everyone, not just those with a lot of money.

Shannon Smith

Nelson