Altona's mayor has reaffirmed the town's decision to close the Aquatic Centre for most of this summer. The pool needs a new liner installed and that work will begin on July 6 and will take from 4 to 6 weeks to complete.

The work was originally scheduled to begin in August, however, town council decided to start the project earlier based on a variety of factors including the uncertainty that COVID-19 restrictions placed on pool operations. The province has since softened some of those restrictions, but Mayor Al Friesen says they intend to stick to the July start.

Several citizens have expressed their disappointment with the decision especially in a year when COVID-19 has already limited the recreation options for families.

"Tough decisions are not easy decisions but that doesn't mean they are wrong decisions," said Mayor Al Friesen. "We know that families are disappointed, but we're also confident our recreation team will come up with some fun activities this summer."

According to Friesen, it's possible, if all the work gets done on time, that the pool could be opened for the later part of summer.