I took a recent arrival from Ukraine to the Mount Hot Pools, $52 I paid (I could eat for a week on that.)  However when your friend gets a call every morning just to say that her friends are alive, then a treat is medicine for the soul.

When she returned to change, her shoes were stolen. Before you light your torches, I accept blame for not telling her to bring her clothes outside. The theft of her shoes was like a punch to her stomach. I will buy her new shoes, of course. Instead of heading out for fish and chips on the beach her day was ruined.

As to the pricing, I know how much public pools cost to run. However they bring people to spend money in the local economy, this pricing is gouging. Council clearly wants it to be an exclusive experience. Well it is, the prices exclude the average family. I can wear the cost of the swim, and put it down to doing my part to bring cheer, the theft of the shoes however sticks in my craw. If anyone knows about an unexplained pair of black 35cm shoes, just drop them back to the pools.

Paul Cronin, Katikati.

* Bay Venues’ general manager customer experience Samantha Wilkie replies:

Kia ora Paul, we were sorry to hear about your friend’s shoes being taken from inside the changing rooms while she was out swimming. That is definitely not the kind of experience we want our visitors to have and we have asked our team to keep an eye out for the shoes in case they turn up. There is a pair of black shoes in lost property currently, please contact Mount Hot Pools to see if they are the ones you are looking for. User fees at Bay Venues facilities were increased in July to offset rising operational costs (power and water, for example) and to align our prices with national benchmarks. As you pointed out, aquatic facilities are not cheap to run. However, we will continue to have discounted rates for all seniors, youth, and Tauranga residents. There are also visit passes and memberships for regular users that provide further discounts, as well as disability memberships allowing complimentary access to Bay Venues’ five aquatic facilities.