Petition asks council to do more for region’s border town

THE dust may not be yet settled on long-awaited repairs to the Goomeri pool but that has not stopped residents from calling for the council to do more for the region’s border town.

More than 450 people are petitioning the council to add some flare to the pool by way of play park, cafe and gym.

The request will be formally lodged at today’s council meeting.

The petitioners say the proposal “will bring much happiness to the people of Goomeri Town”.

Goomeri Pool is currently closed and residents have to catch a bus to Kilkivan for a swim. (Photo: Jessica McGrath)

It calls for the construction of “a Goomeri Recreational Water Play Park with cafe and Gym to be located at the Goomeri Public Swimming Pool”.

Goomeri’s pool has been a sore spot for the council and the town this year.

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It was shut in January due to problems with its backwash and filtration system.

Swimmers instead had to take a 20-minute bus trip into Kilkivan if they wanted to cool off during the record-breaking summer.

The pool was shut back in January; the council only committed funding to fix it last month. (Photo: Jessica McGrath)

Within a week of the shutdown residents had taken up placards to protest and demand action from the council, with many questioning where their rates money was being spent in the region.

Resident Toni Jeavons said the pool had been neglected for years before the breakdown.

The newly elected council committed $509,000 last month to fixing the pool, funding secured through the State Government’s COVID-19 recovery Works for Queensland program.