By Pepper Parr
July 25th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
You can identify the BAD swimmers – they are the ones wearing the blue swimming caps.
Valeria Latkovic:
We learned earlier today that there is a Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club (GHAC) member lurking around the BAD swimmers when they are on the swimming pool deck and actively trying to persuade them to join the GHAC – and that he can take care of all the details.
That is foul. The swimmers are going through enough exasperation.
It gets worse. An individual sent a comment to the Gazette on the Valeria Latkovic story we published. As Publisher, I am legally liable for what we publish. While I personally know many of the people who send in a comments – there are new people every day.
Hi Valeria,
I hope you’ll consider joining GHAC. You’d be training right here in Burlington with a senior group that’s supportive, focused, and led by coaches who genuinely care about helping swimmers grow. I guarantee you’ll spot some familiar goggles in your lane.
With many senior GHAC swimmers living in Burlington, I’m confident carpooling to McMaster for long course practices won’t be a problem if you choose to swim those sessions. You’ll also have access to professional dryland training that will help take your performance to the next level.
You deserve that kind of support—and so does your mom, who has always stood for fairness and accountability in trying to work with the BAD board, even if it wasn’t always met with success.
Your backstroke is strong. In the right environment, I have no doubt you’ll not only qualify for OSC next year—but stand on the podium.
Rooting for you,
A friend who believes in your potential
This particular comment didn’t pass the smell test. When I’m suspicious, I test the email address to see if it’s authentic. And of course this one wasn’t. This is what GHAC is doing – it is despicable.
Then there is Caleb – that’s the name a writer uses. He is really a foul individual. He capacity is limited to negative comments. There are three comments in the queue- they won’t be published.
What happened to the concept of sportsmanship.?
This is what the sport is about.
What happened to the seven members of Council who could put a halt to this in minutes.
A reader reported to us that he called one of the “older” Councillors, asking what he the Councillor thought about how the issue would be resolved. “We have to let the two clubs work it out”.
Leadership?
One more bit of news. The Competitive Swimming Club had a difference of opinion with the city a number of years ago and sued – and, according to our source, they won the Court and were awarded a sum of money.
There is a lot about how swimming pool space has been allocated in the past that is not as public as it should be. Something is seriously wrong somewhere in the administration.
Parks and Recreation would be a good place to start digging around.
Has the report of a GHAC member accosting swimmers poolside been checked out and verified or has the report, presumably made by a BAD biased individual, been reported by the Gazette at face value?
Wayne how do you see your temporary solution working? Would GHAC & BAD share the weekly hours on a 50/50 basis?
Does that not just confuse the issue even more for swimmers? Who do they sign with? BAD will only have 50% of its previous pool time. How does it allocate that amongst its members?
Wayne/Ted
You both continue to prejudge the whole matter without having all the facts to hand as being the fault of a poor RFP process. BTW I’m not saying it wasn’t, I’m just saying that we outsiders cannot possibly come to any conclusion without knowing all the facts.
You continue to ignore that BAD did have the ability to meet the current and valid certificate of incorporation requirement by providing a copy of its original certificate of incorporation (which it or it’s counsel must have) which still to this day remains current and valid. Neither of you, along with many others, fail to suggest a future process which will allow for multiple swimming organizations to bid for the pool time.
Editor’s note: The information came from a credible source.
Bruce I will try!
Posible future process:
Develop a proper pre-tender prequalification / expression of interest invitation document for all potential proponents.
This would be a detailed document asking the right questions and requesting the right documentation.
Post notices, contact previous users, advertise. Have a due date for submission!
Establish an internal review team with a leader. Suggest the team does not just consist of parks and recreation and purchasing staff. The team reviews the received prequalification’s.
The team decides which proponents are acceptable and which are not. The team issues an internal recommendation with staff sign offs.
Concurrently develop and issue the RFP to only acceptable organizations, perhaps with hours and availability perhaps at all pools so that qualified proponents can determine which facilities better meet their organization’s needs.
Close the RFP on a given date.
Evaluate the offers.
The team then submits a recommendation on the successful bidder or bidders.
The recommendation would then be circulated for internal administrative approval and formal sign offs.
Award(s)!!!
NB: I do want to emphasize that a one-page rental agreement would suffice!!!!! Anything more than that is unnecessary. Templates abound! Keep in mind that the City is renting out pool hours. The City must carry appropriate insurance to protect us the taxpayers against lawsuits.
It strikes me that perhaps the City operating procedures may have zero accountability. Therefore no one is responsible which seems to be the situation. Just a guess I don’t know.
to Ted and Mike
That’s exactly the point Ted. This leadership team can’t do this.
I’ve posted here many times about the ongoing failures at City Hall — not just the operational blunders, but the consistent lack of accountability and leadership. This pool RFP mess is just the latest example. In a city of nearly 200,000 people, it’s astonishing that staff and council can’t recognize a self-inflicted problem, take ownership, and fix it without being publicly pushed.
What makes it worse is the pattern:
council members and staff more concerned about managing their image than managing outcomes, bending conflict rules, skipping meetings, and turning up for photo ops while dodging real questions. And when residents push back, we’re told to be more respectful — really ????
As though protecting feelings matters more than fixing failures.
People are frustrated because they don’t see leadership — they see deflection. The fact that residents now feel the need to call for an independent audit speaks volumes. We shouldn’t need outside help. But if council and staff can’t or won’t act transparently and responsibly, what choice do we have?
Mike and Wayne,
While I do not dismiss the potential value of an independent audit, I can’t see that how it would change anything.
It is astonishing and concerning that the sum total of city staff and council in a city of almost 200,000 people does not have the internal structure or capability to recognize a self-created problem, accept responsibility and promptly resolve an important local issue.
The municipal election can’t come soon enough. Hopefully many will see the need for change and experienced, competent candidates will come forward.
I think that Wayne may have identified the way forward – kudos. I do have two reservations, however. The first is that we have learned through painful experience how difficult it is to get a truly “independent” assessment – be it an ethics review, an audit review or a compliance investigation. The City pays the tab so the City often has a say in what is said and how it is expressed. My second concern is that if it was indeed possible to find the right agency with no inherent dependencies attached, then we would need a truly exceptional individual. Ideally, we would want someone used to working with aspiring municipal staff professionals, politicians, entrepreneurs and senior executives; someone capable of supporting them in addressing these challenges while overcoming the many imposed obstacles so they can maximize their full potential as problem solvers and human beings. There are few who could step up to the task
said it a couple of times already …. “this is going to be fun to watch”.
There’s lot’s wrong here and changes need to be made internally around this process but in the meantime here’s some ideas that show good faith, allows both GHAC and BAD to be heard without political bias and gives council cover for a possible course correction.
– Council and staff must publicly acknowledge that the process was flawed. Pretending everything was done “by the book” when serious questions remain only deepens distrust.
– Without invalidating the RFP yet, bring in an outside municipal procurement expert to conduct a fast-tracked audit of how the RFP was handled. Not internal staff, not council — independent and credible
– While the audit happens, proactively broker a temporary, interim use agreement between GHAC and BAD that ensures continued community access.
– Set a firm 30- to 45-day window to receive the audit results and act.
– If the audit confirms material irregularities — such as misapplied rules or unfair advantages — then council must be willing to cancel or renegotiate the GHAC RFP, even if it’s awkward or expensive.
Council can’t hide behind a bad process. It should admit mistakes, bring in an independent review, and fix this — even if it means tearing up the deal.