Swimmers wanting to take a dip at Coquitlam's Eagle Ridge Pool during the last few days of summer are being told to go elsewhere to cool off.
The outdoor pool, located at the corner of Guildford Way and Lansdowne Drive, was closed on Monday after the city rented out the facility - as well as the adjacent tennis courts and parking lot - to a production crew shooting a feature film.
The area is closed to the public until the end of the outdoor pool season, on Labour Day.
Lori MacKay, Coquitlam's general manager of parks, recreation and cultural services, said swimming lessons wrapped up last Friday and weren't affected.
The city has posted a bulletin on its website informing residents about the early closure and directing them to the other two outdoor public pools - Spani and Rochester, which this month underwent maintenance work - as well as the two indoor pools: City Centre and Chimo.
The closure came to The Tri-City News' attention after reader Sherry Parkin complained about the inconvenience. "Families should be entitled to the availability of the facilities our taxes support," she wrote in an email.
Yesterday, Coun. Doug Macdonell, chair of the city's recreation committee, said he sympathizes with Parkin, but noted, "While it is unfortunate that people are being inconvenienced in the last week of summer, any money that we get for operational expenses as compensation is money that the taxpayers don't have to spend."
The movie company, TCF Productions Ltd., is paying a film permit fee as well as making up for lost revenue for the pool and city staffing. As well, TCF is kicking in $15,000 for pool equipment, MacKay said.
Because of the Eagle Ridge pool closure, the city will keep Spani open until Sept. 30, she said.
