With the weather warming up, the anticipation is high for the start of a new swimming season.
There has however been some angst in the community after a clerical error resulted in children’s season passes being deleted and replaced with an ‘Individual Pass’ which is more than double the cost of a child’s season pass last season, $165 compared to $82.
Pool contractor, the L&R Group, announced the new pool admission prices for the Cobar Shire Council-owned Cobar Memorial Swimming Pool last week, with a number of parents questioning why child and adult season passes had been replaced this season with an ‘Individual’ pass for pool users four years and up.
The L&R Group responded that: “As per the Fees & Charges set by Cobar Council for 2024/25, a child season pass will now fall under an adult season pass at a single price”.
Some parents complained saying that under the new pricing schedule, an individual season pass for a child was double the cost of a child’s season pass last year.
The Cobar Weekly queried the reason for the price increase with Cobar Shire Council’s general manager, Peter Vlatko, on Friday.
Mr Vlatko said it appears there had been a clerical error, and the cost of a child’s season pass was left off the list of fees and charges when council adopted their Annual Operation Plan Fees and Charges in May this year.
“Unfortunately it was overlooked and it also wasn’t picked up when it went out for public consultation,” Mr Vlatko said.
He said it will be corrected however as the annual Fees and Charges were already adopted by council at the May 2024 Ordinary Council Meeting, a recommendation to change the Fees and Charges needs to go back to council for discussion.
He said the matter has now been added into the September Ordinary Council Meeting (tomorrow) as a late agenda item.
Once voted upon by the council, Mr Vlatko said the decision for a newly proposed fee will then need to go on public exhibition for 28 days before council can adopt the new fee.
He expects that will occur at the October Ordinary Council Meeting.
“The new price will become operative from that Friday [the day after the October meeting] and people will be able to buy a child’s season pass from that date,” Mr Vlatko said.
“They won’t be able to buy a child’s season pass before then.”
