Good things come to those who wait and some really good things are coming to Roxburgh.
After more than 16 years’ planning, endless meetings and the raising of $3 million, the Ida MacDonald Roxburgh Pool will be officially opened on Sunday.
Committee chairwoman Sally Feinerman said there would be traditional ribbon cutting at noon and then the doors would open for people to get their first view of the completed pool.
‘‘Mayor Tim Cadogan’s here to do the official opening, so we’re pretty stoked to have Tim come down. The council have given us a lot of support with this project so it will be great to have Tim here on the day to help us officially open it.’’
As well as the pools there was a structure to shelter people from the sun when they were not in the water.
‘‘I call it the big carport but it’s got solar panels, we’ve 50kW of solar panels and right now we’re making money and sending that back to the grid. We’re actually making money before we’ve opened, which is pretty cool.’’
The main pool will be heated to about 28°C thanks to the heat pumps powered by the solar panels. Covers will be put over the pool at night to keep in the heat.
The 89-year-old former pool was demolished in 2022, preparing the way for the new one on the same site behind Roxburgh Area School.
The new pool features a 25m four-lane heated main pool, a 10m learners’ pool and a toddlers’ beach pool plus new change rooms, office space and a plant room. Both the learners’ and main pools had access ramps.
Sourcing grants from Central Lakes Trust, Otago Community Trust, Lotteries Grants and Central Otago District Council, along with many smaller sponsors, had helped with the fundraising target which ultimately came in at $3m.
The Teviot Valley-based Ida MacDonald Trust had stepped up and was the naming sponsor. Contact Energy was also a sponsor and had funded the system using solar panels to power the heat pumps used to heat the water.
