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Written: July 29, 2026
The existing Courtenay Memorial Pool
Courtenay’s Memorial Outdoor Pool has served the Comox Valley since 1949. It is well loved, well used and approaching the end of its useful life.
Courtenay has selected replacement at Lewis Park as its preferred direction, with a current Class D estimate of about $32.5 million.
For Cumberland residents, however, there is another question:
If this becomes a regional project, what exactly would Cumberland taxpayers be committing to?
Nothing has been decided yet
Nothing has been decided yet
Cumberland has not agreed to fund a new pool.
The Comox Valley Recreation Commission has directed staff to further analyze Courtenay’s request and report back as part of the Recreation Strategic Roadmap review in spring 2027. Staff have also been asked to examine an outdoor-pool option at the existing Comox Valley Aquatic Centre, including the possibility of a retractable roof.
That comparison is important.
Courtenay’s preferred model would have the CVRD take on borrowing responsibility while Courtenay continues to deliver and operate the service. That could mean Cumberland residents helping repay debt for a major facility outside our municipality.
Cumberland already supports regional recreation and has contributed to the Memorial Pool through the existing regional grant service. The question is whether that support should become a much larger, long-term capital obligation.
If the funding becomes regional, the planning should be regional too
If the funding becomes regional, the planning should be regional too
Lewis Park has obvious advantages. It is familiar, central and has generations of history behind it.
It also has constraints.
The replacement concept requires significant flood mitigation, and the site has groundwater, parking and space limitations. A major reconstruction could also leave the outdoor pool unavailable for up to two summers.
That does not automatically make Lewis Park the wrong location.
But if taxpayers from Cumberland, Comox and the electoral areas are being asked to help pay for the project, I think we should know how Lewis Park compares with other realistic options before committing to decades of borrowing.
I asked the Recreation Commission to provide a side-by-side comparison that includes the full capital cost, Cumberland-specific tax impacts, actual Cumberland usage, financing costs, flood and parking considerations, and clear responsibility for maintenance, lifecycle renewal and eventual replacement.
A useful comparison from Quincy
A useful comparison from Quincy
There is an interesting example just south of the border.
Quincy, Washington opened its old municipal pool in 1957, only eight years after Courtenay’s. When it came time for replacement, Quincy reconsidered both the facility and its location.
Its new aquatic centre includes a six-lane pool, lazy river, waterslides, leisure areas and other amenities. The replacement was relocated within the park, while the old pool remained available for its final season.
The comparison is not about claiming Courtenay could build the same facility for the same price. Construction markets, currencies, project scopes and cost estimates are different.
The lesson is simpler:
Replacing a 70-year-old facility is an opportunity to ask whether the old location and old model are still the best choices for the next 50 years.
I have also suggested that Courtenay preserve enough flexibility in its Bill Moore and Dogwood Parks planning to at least screen Bill Moore Park as a possible future aquatic location. It may prove unsuitable, but once land-use decisions are made, that option could disappear. Courtenay has confirmed that my comments will form part of the park-planning engagement record.
The new outdoor pool in Quincy, WA
Cumberland has its own infrastructure to pay for
Cumberland has its own infrastructure to pay for
This is the part I keep coming back to.
Cumberland has aging roads and underground utilities, water and wastewater infrastructure, municipal buildings, recreation facilities, fire equipment and other major obligations of its own.
Regional projects can absolutely provide value to Cumberland residents. We already participate in major regional recreation facilities.
But every new borrowing commitment reduces the room available for something else.
Before Cumberland taxpayers take on part of a $30-million-plus pool replacement, I want to know:
What will it cost Cumberland each year? What alternatives were considered? What are the long-term maintenance and replacement obligations? And is this the best regional investment for the money?
Lewis Park may still turn out to be the right answer.
But if the project becomes regional, the comparison, decision-making and financial analysis should be regional too.
No commitment has been made yet.
That is exactly why now is the time to ask the questions.
Sources & Further Reading
Sources & Further Reading
City of Courtenay – Aquatic Strategy
City of Courtenay – Memorial Outdoor Pool options and engagement
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