Director of leisure services Peter Dunbar said is hopeful that the first phase of the revitalization of Heritage Park will be completed in the summer of 2010.

Some preliminary construction has started at the Third and High Street site, but said major construction isn't likely to begin for several weeks.

The first phase will include renovations to the Centennial Pool, which is more than 40 years old, and the construction of a new wellness centre, as a replacement for the current Collingwood Fitness Centre - also known as the Contact Centre.

The first phase of the project is expected to cost about $2.9 million.

"The outdoor pool is the number one priority," he said. "To have it ready by June is key."

Dunbar said the wellness centre is not a huge build and he would like to see it completed by next summer.

"If we get the foundation in the ground before the snow comes, that is a good thing for us," he said.

The new facility will be available for all adults, but is targeted for baby boomers and seniors. Dunbar said the facility will include a therapeutic pool, which Dunbar said helps people rehabilitate serious or nagging injuries. The building will also include fitness equipment, much of it designed for rehabilitation from injuries as well as staying in shape. He said the building won't include a large weightlifting section.

"About 40 to 50 per cent of the members have had different types of operations," he said.

Fitness centre manager Catherine Koepke said the centre has around 300 people who purchase memberships throughout the year, but some of those are on a one-month basis, others for three and some for the year.

She said because of the threat of closure, more people are buying daily passes.

"Less and less people are buying any type of membership because you can pay per visit," she said.

Koepke said the "instability," and the lack of renovations to the facility are the main reasons for this drop.

Dunbar agrees.

"The town hasn't put a lot of money into the contact centre," Dunbar said.

Councillor Norman Sandberg said the town has ignored the current facility and believes a new centre will increase membership.

"It's a replacement of an existing facility that is aged and at the end of its useful life," he said. This is the next logical step. It's good facility management."

Sandberg points to the Curling Club as a facility that was on its last legs, but once it was renovated, became a big success.

"We have heard over the years, as they degrade, people become less enamoured with them," he said.

Councillor Mike Edwards is a big proponent of the new facility and believes it provides a good service for Collingwood residents.

"I think it provides a service that isn't available," he said. "The fact that other people don't have it, doesn't mean we shouldn't."

Edwards said it offers people - seniors specifically - a place where they can feel comfortable. Edwards said the centre offers aqua-fit classes that help people stay in shape.

"It's a very healthy activity that an aging population can participate in," he said. "If you look at the classes, they are packed and well attended."

The current fitness centre has been a controversial topic around the council table, as to whether to close it or not. Edwards said people are less likely to buy or renew a membership if they think the facility is going to close.

Councillor Sonny Foley is opposed to building the facility at its current location. Foley argues that the municipality looks at full-cost recovery for adults and 50 per cent cost recovery for kids when it comes to recreation.

Foley said the current contact centre doesn't follow these principles and doubts the new wellness centre will either.

He said the current contact centre has an operating deficit of about $200,000 and the debenture cost of the new facility is about $230,000. He said not including additional operating costs, the municipality will need to generate an additional $323,000 in revenue to recover the costs of the new wellness centre.

"Do the math," he said. "It will probably increase membership but to what extent?"

Foley said this facility should have been part of a multi-use facility and says this new wellness centre doesn't follow the sustainability plan or the leisure services master plan, which recommended the town avoid building additional facilities and save the money for one large facility.

Sandberg said when the time comes to set the rate at the wellness centre, he is hopeful that the rate will bring the facility closer to full cost recovery.

"I would hope, in the final analysis, that the fees will be established to be realistic to operate the facility," he said.

Koepke said Foley is looking at the number of users per day, which a decade ago was around 150, but is now at 50 per day.

She expects this to change once a new facility is constructed.

"That number (50) will increase and likely triple in a new facility with heat and without it being in the paper every week that we're closing," she said.