Cabonne Council has received state recognition for its unsupervised swimming pools initiative, which opened up our shire’s pools to swimmers for longer hours.
Last Summer community members were able to spend another 1435 hours at the shire’s village pools, which include Eugowra, an additional 570 hours a week at the shire’s town pools, which include Canowindra, thanks to the program.
The council won the Special Project Initiative award – for populations up to 50,000 – at the Local Government Professionals Australia NSW excellence awards, Cabonne Council announced on its Facebook page.
“A huge thank you to our dedicated team, community partners and all our swimmers who helped bring this project to life,” the council said.
The finalist booklet provided for the awards explains the program resulted in a 143 per cent increase in season passes and a 47 per cent increase in patronage.
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“With seven pools across the region, maintaining lifeguard staffing for extended hours was financially unsustainable,” the award says.
“The solution was to introduce unsupervised pool access during designated hours, supported by technology-driven security measures.
“Community members aged 18 and over could purchase a season pass, complete an induction process, and receive a fob for secure entry.
“Safety was a priority, with CCTV monitoring, companion swimming requirements, emergency protocols, and insurance consultation ensuring risk management.
“The initiative has been widely embraced by the community and is now a benchmark for balancing fiscal responsibility with public service enhancement.”
The program meant Canowindra swimmers could get their morning laps in as those with an access fob could use the pool between 6am and 7pm, while the pool was staffed 10am to 6pm daily.
