Re: The proposed Memorial Park Aquatic Centre. The recent media reports about Tauranga city Council’s Commissioners’ inane decision to approve $153m upgrades for the proposed Memorial Park Aquatic Centre, mainly comprising three hydro-slides and an eight-lane 25m lap pool defies belief!

By the look of it this is fiscal madness by spendthrifts it will not even include an Olympic-sized 50m pool; and by the time they have finished, the cost, will not be nearly $200m but closer to $300m. The site, which is historically on low lying reclaimed land, is geotechnically and tsunami suspect.

It is not true to say that Baywave is over-capacity because some evenings only the main pool becomes crowded with multi-users, and all because council did not listen to the public in early-2000 and spend slightly more for a 50m Olympic pool. By the looks of it the new development does not even have a spa/steam/sauna room facility nor children’s pool.

We must rid ourselves of these spendthrift Commissioners who have not even provided or addressed essential infrastructure during the past three years; and Memorial Park, stadium, civic centre and Cameron Road mess are not even remotely in that class. Abridged.

Rob Paterson, Ohauiti.

Editor’s note: It has been reported that the proposed aquatics centre will have bombing pools, splash pad, a toddler pool, and eight indoor 25m swimming lanes and two outdoor lanes at a cost of $122.25m. Find out more about the project at: https://letstalk.tauranga.govt.nz/projects/memorial-park-and-community-recreation-hub