A Mount Maunganui couple is disappointed opening hours of Mount Hot Pools won’t be extended – despite garnering 127 supporting signatures.

Julie and Jim Carle petitioned Tauranga City Council to return the pools, which have sat at the base of Mauao for nearly 60 years, to the 6am opening time used before the Covid-19 pandemic, instead of the current 7am.

The pair presented their petition with 127 signatures at an October council meeting. Julie Carle told the meeting the pools were a “unique, essential rehab and health and wellness public facility”.

The later opening time was not serving community needs and was causing “disharmony” between the walkers, swimmers and aqua class members, she said.

The council decided to retain the current opening time of 7am at a City Delivery Committee meeting on Monday.

Tauranga mayor Mahé Drysdale. Photo / David Hall

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said it did not “make financial sense to be opening earlier”.

The cost of opening an hour earlier Monday to Saturday would be an extra $162.50 a day, according to information provided by Bay Wave that manages the pool.

This included staff costs and other operating expenses. Staff were onsite from 6am to prepare the pool and finished at 10.30pm.

Julie Carle told Local Democracy Reporting the decision was “disappointing considering we got such a positive response from the council” at the first meeting.

“The decision doesn’t service the demands of local workers, disabled, those recovering from injury, [or the] elderly. Has council business trumped local interests and concerns?”

It was also disappointing the decision took six months and there had been no communication with them during that time, she said.

The Mount Hot Pools is a popular spot for locals and tourists. Photo / David Hall

Bay Venues operations general manager Tina Harris-Ririnui agreed with council’s decision as there was a need to “balance venue access with financial prudence and value for money”.

Harris-Ririnui said staff loved the community’s passion for the “iconic facility”. Many residents made a visit part of their daily or weekly routine.

“We also need to ensure this venue remains economically sustainable so the community can enjoy it for many more years to come.”

Mount Hot Pools opened earlier than most equivalent pools nationally, many of which opened at 9am or later, she said.

“We want the Mount Hot Pools to be as accessible as possible to our residents and visitors and our opening hours reflect that.”

BayWave in Mount Maunganui was an alternative that opened at 6am, Harris-Ririnui said.

Its leisure pool was heated to 32C, the same as the Mount Hot Pools hydrotherapy pool.

“The leisure pool is perfect for lane walking and there is plenty of available space at this time of morning.”

Background

In 2022, Bay Venues reviewed the number of early morning visits and found the same number of people were visiting between 7am-8am than had been between 6am-8am pre-Covid, Harris-Ririnui’s report to council said.

Currently, Mount Hot Pools averaged 29 visits between 7am-8am on weekdays.

Most early morning attendees were retirees or semi-retired individuals.

The majority of these visits were from patrons who had memberships or passes, which resulted in a “low average spend per head”.

A 10-visit swim pass for an adult was $245.70 and a senior 65+ $169.20.

A 30-visit swim pass for an adult was $737.10 and $507.60 for a senior.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.