GLENTHOMPSON community members along with three Southern Grampians Shire Councillors (SGSC) were left bereft after Wednesday night’s ordinary Council meeting when the vote to keep the Glenthompson War Memorial Swimming Pool open was lost, four votes in favour to close, three against.

It was front and centre of debate at April’s ordinary meeting, with the pool’s closure being the first item on the agenda, with Councillors Katrina Rainsford, Fran Malone, and Albert Calvano voting to keep it open.

Arguments put forth on both sides were sometimes emotive, whilst at other times, bureaucratic.

A group of community members attended the meeting with the first deputation given by Glenthompson local Ray Allan, who stated the pool was an integral asset to the town’s folks’ social health and wellbeing.

“If we lose the swimming pool, it will cause significant heartbreak for many long term and many new residents of our community and be yet another nail in the coffin for Glenthompson,” he said.

Another local, Jenny Rankin, made an emotional pitch and used the increased confidence of two young swimmers recently as an example of the physical and social advantages to having local access to a swimming pool.

“This is what inclusion for disadvantaged kids looks like,” she said.

“It would not have been possible if (the children) had to travel.”

She also argued against the lack of patronage being a valid point of contest by the Councillors in favour of closing the pool.

“That gnarly old chestnut (patronage) and cost per user was an instrumental and demeaning way to assess the worth of community asset,” Ms Rankin said.

In an impassioned plea imploring her fellow Councillors to vote in favour of keeping the pool open, Cr Rainsford said, “You don’t have to be in a pool to actually realise the benefit of it”.

“There’s lots of people who have a pool that don’t use it every day,” she said.

“But it’s still an asset that gives a sense of well-being.”

“You could actually put a cover over the pool, heat it - have some solar heating and make it an all year-round pool.

“It’s a beautiful area out there.

“I don’t see small towns with their pools as a glass half empty - I see them as glass half full.

“These are opportunities for people to come and live and work and enjoy living in our area.”

Cr Bruach Colliton spoke in favour of the closing the pool.

“I think 100 per cent of the people that are driving through Glenthompson are admiring the Grampians rather than the swimming pool as Cr Rainsford was arguing,” he said.

“To come in at the 11th hour and claim this is all last minute … the first report … was done in 2001 which started to clearly show the aging infrastructure of our swimming pools.

“In 2009 we had the aquatic strategy done which showed we needed to invest $13 million at the time (into our pools) and Councillors just stuck their head in the sand … and here we all are.

“It’s money we don’t have.

“It is a very hard decision to make.”

Cr Helen Henry had the right of reply to Cr Rainsford to close the debate.

“I’m from Digby, I understand and love small communities,” she said.

“(But) I think there has been an exaggeration around the pool being the connector. The community is the connector.

“It’s not the pool - I think there is something really incredible that could happen (in Glenthompson).

“This is not a decision that is made on one aspect alone.

“It’s about population catchment, utilisation, it’s about economic viability, but most of all there is the added threat that at some point that if we do not address this issue - and this is not the only pool issue - that the state audit system will come down on us for being financially irresponsible and they will close the pool for us and that will be that.”

Mayor Robertson said he was disappointed to see some members of the gallery leave the chambers halfway through the debate because if they had stayed, they would have seen how torn Councillors were about the decision.

In the aftermath of the meeting on Thursday morning more than 30 people gathered at the Glenthompson War Memorial Swimming Pool to galvanise their emotions, a mixture of anger, disgust and sadness, but also determination.

“It’s not over,” Glenthompson resident Leigh Heard said.

“The level of debate at the meeting was abysmal.

“To say that the argument to keep it open has come at the eleventh hour is just nonsense.

“That’s hardly the point.”

Joining other community members Glenthompson Progress Association vice president, Trevor Burns said, “we’re doing what we can”.

Glenthompson resident Paul Richards said it had only been five days since SGSC had released a copy of the engineer’s report.

“The engineer’s report that has come back for the pool is absolutely perfect and it’s has got another 30 years’ life span on it.”

Speaking to the fact that the swimming pool was built by the community including returned servicemen and is aptly named the Glenthompson War Memorial Swimming Pool, Mr Richards said it was a disgrace that point alone had been ignored.

“We’ve been speaking to Canberra about it,” he said.

Returned servicewoman and Glenthompson resident, Janice Burns said she was absolutely disgusted with Council voting to close the pool.

“There’s a few of us that are ex-service people here - this is our pool,” she said.

“The Council has not spent any money on this pool area for over 15 years to renovate it or do it up or anything, and now they want to knock it down because they say it’s substandard.

“Whose fault is that?

“The engineer’s report said it’s solid.

“It just needs a bit of TLC.”

Rex and Doris Mitchell who now reside in Hamilton told The Spectator they were broken hearted to hear of the council’s decision.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Mrs Mitchell said.

She said her husband had extensive involvement in the community including fundraising and physically building the pool.

“Everyone was involved,” she said.

“The whole town helped to build it.”

 Sara Stokie who attended the rally said her family had been long time locals and were affiliated with the pool.

“My Dad and George McCallum helped build this pool,” she said.

Another local, Tracey Potatau-Wright said, “This pool was opened free of debt”.

“It’s the newest pool in the Shire,” she said.

Tom Harris, 8, who lives in Dunkeld said he came to the pool all the time.

When asked why he didn’t use the pool in Dunkeld, he said “My mum used to come here when she was little so now, she brings us here”.

“I don’t want it to close.”

Wannon MP Dan Tehan said he was disappointed to hear that Council had voted in favour of the pool’s closure.

He said concerned community members had spoken to him about the possible closure of the pool six months ago.

“I took those concerns to Council,” he said.

“It’s very disappointing (but) it is very difficult for Council to maintain all the swimming pools they have.

“These pools have great historical significance and we’ve got to do what we can to preserve their heritage.

“Community assets like the Glenthompson swimming pool, people attach great significance to.”