Adriana Decker

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Hampstead resident Adriana Decker questioned council last week on the town’s increased pool fees, which have been previously justified as a way to keep property taxes as low as possible.

Residents had complained in 2023 about a daily pass for the pool at Hampstead Park being $15 for residents three years old and up, with one resident saying it would cost $75 to bring her family. In late July, the price structure was changed to $10 for residents 18 and under, and $35 for a family pass as long as all members could provide proof they were Hampstead residents. The daily pass price has been $25 for non-residents.

Decker, who was a prominent voice in principle against the redevelopment of an apartment building on Côte St. Luc Road in 2019, said that according to statistics, 4,692 daily passes for the pool were purchased when the price was lower, with income totalling $30,727.

“In 2024, there were only 837 tickets sold, which is insane how increasing the price has limited access to the pool, and the total revenue was only $17,431,” she would. “Why have we increased the price of the single ticket if it hasn’t increased revenue? If you look at the family pass in 2022, the revenue was $23,944 and in 2024, it was $28,240. The difference is nothing. This has decreased the amount of people who can enjoy the pool. I’m one of those people. Please have a discussion about this.”

Mayor Jeremy Levi said the intent of the current fees was never to limit access to the the pool.

“I understand that might be the appearance of it, it was certainly not the intent,” the Mayor explained. “The intent is to try to be as fiscally responsible as possible. Even though there may not be a significant change in revenue, there is a significant change in the operating costs. We do not need as many lifeguards, because there’s not as many people” using the pool.

Levi also said the pool does not need as much maintenance and upkeep as previously.

“What has the difference [in savings] been, does anyone know?” Decker asked.

Levi said he did not have that information.

“I’ve had many discussions with many people — when I grew up in this town, the pool was very different than what it is today,” the Mayor explained. “The neighbourhood was very different. We issue permits for about 12 private pools every year now. In terms of this mandate, that’s about 50 to 60 new private pools, which means 50 to 60 families no longer using the public pool.”

The Mayor said the town is trying to find a balance.

“I know that when we had day passes of $2 or $3 for non-residents, a very big part of the users were non-residents and there was a very big opinion that if we were losing $100,000 on the upkeep of the pool, why we are we subsidizing it to non-residents? We wanted to make it amenable, where it’s geared towards residents. Everything we do, our interest is for the residents. Not to limit access, for sure not.”