Laurentian University says it needs more time to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request made by Sudbury.com last month for a repair options report on the long-closed Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool.
The document we requested was produced in December 2023 by Laurentian’s consultant, JL Richards.
When Sudbury.com requested a copy of the document from university communications staff in February, the university declined to provide it.
“The report will be part of further conversations within the joint planning committee about the future of the Jeno Tihanyi Pool and would therefore remain confidential,” said a spokesperson for Laurentian.
With communications staff declining our request, and given the public interest in this topic, we then formally submitted a freedom of information request for the document under the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
The university received our request on March 12, acknowledging its receipt by email April 4.
In general, under provincial legislation, information access requests must be completed within 30 days.
However, in this case, Laurentian University said the time limit for answering our request has been extended until June due to the necessity for third-party consultations, said a letter to Sudbury.com from the university on April 12.
“As a result of the third-party consultations that are needed in order to respond to your request, in accordance with section 27 of the Act, the time limit for answering your request has been extended for an additional 55 days to June 6, 2024,” said the letter from LU general counsel Céleste Boyer.
The Jeno Tihanyi Pool, which was built in 1972, was shut down in the spring of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and never reopened. In early 2022, with Laurentian University still undergoing insolvency restructuring, the pool started to leak.
With LU having exited insolvency in late 2022 and able to spend money on repairing more than the absolute essentials, Laurentian has been investigating what it would cost to repair and reopen the facility, and earmarked $300,000 in its 2023-24 budget for that purpose.
Laurentian has been providing the community — many of them eager to see the pool reopen — with regular updates on this file, with the most recent one issued Feb. 28.
While still not providing any timelines on when the pool might be repaired and reopened, Laurentian said in February it plans to initiate discussions with the City of Greater Sudbury on the pool’s future.
Laurentian’s board of governors passed a motion at their February meeting to “... initiate discussions with the City of Greater Sudbury for the creation of a joint planning committee that will be responsible for the creation of a plan and funding model for the renewal of Laurentian's athletic facilities (including the pool).”
Further, the board also resolved that “... Laurentian University’s Executive Management engages in discussions on the future of the pool and athletic facilities as part of LU's strategic plan on campus renewal.”
Laurentian said it would “make every effort to provide another update” on the pool by April 30.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
