Visitors to the Casey Recreation and Aquatic Centre (RACE) have raised concerns about the facility’s cleanliness and safety standards.
A Facebook post by Casey Cr Michelle Crowther on improving the facility drew more than 20 comments on issues of cleanliness and safety.
A primary concern among patrons is the cleanliness of the facility. Multiple reports have highlighted areas such as change rooms, toilets, and poolside spaces being inadequately cleaned.
Star News has talked to several patrons, and they all preferred to be anonymous for privacy reasons.
One patron, who visits the pool two to three times a week, said every time he goes to Casey RACE, the cleaning issue is just what everyone talks about.
“It’s just the showers are disgusting. There’s even vandalism. Someone’s ridden on the tiles and the toilets,” he said.
“These cleaners aren’t up to it.”
Another regular patron described ongoing cleanliness issues at the hydro pool.
Despite management promising to remove debris, items like bath aids, hair ties, and floating bits remained for weeks.
“I think there are a lot of oh, we’ll pass it on to the relevant person. It’s not actually dealt with,” she said.
“I’ve had another friend who has to use the disabled toilet. She says she’s regularly going up and complaining because there’s no toilet paper in there. And instead of someone getting a roll of toilet paper and taking it in, they just say, We’ll pass that on.
“Virtually, when you bring up an issue, obviously, everyone’s got their designated role, and it’s not their role to do this, so they’re just going to pass it on to the next person.”
“You don’t know if the issue is that it’s not getting passed on or if the issue is they’re passing it on to people not doing it. You just don’t really know.”
In addition to cleanliness issues, safety has become a significant concern.
Earlier this year, a brawl involving multiple teenagers occurred at Casey RACE, leading to a facility-wide evacuation and police involvement.
Although no injuries were reported, at the time, the incident raised questions about security measures and crowd control within the facility.
A patron said the security guards are useless when teens tend to cause havoc in the summer months.
“The intention was for the guards to bag check, as there were instances of teens bringing in glass bottles of alcohol and knives,” she said.
“Also, just a general lack of security to make us feel safe leaving at night. There is very bad lighting in the carpark…”
Cr Crowther said she had been contacted by a number of community members who had shared their feedback and concerns about their experiences at Casey RACE.
“In response, Cr Gary Rowe and I organised a walk-through of the facility with Council officers to better understand the issues raised and explore how they can be addressed,” she said.
“This visit provided valuable insights into the community’s concerns and gave us an opportunity to discuss practical solutions to improve the experience for all users of the facility.
“Council has several upgrades planned for Casey RACE over the coming financial year, including new flooring in the family and accessible changerooms and café, installation of new entry turnstiles, a refurbishment of the steam room, and major works in the pool plant rooms to help reduce future shutdowns and disruptions.”
A spokesperson of Casey RACE’s operator Aligned Leisure said they appreciate the feedback passed on by Cr Michelle Crowther from the community, and recently hosted Cr Crowther for a walk-through of Casey RACE to discuss issues and opportunities to improve the facility.
“In partnership with the City of Casey, we are committed to providing an excellent experience for all visitors and look forward to working with Council on a number of future planned improvement works at Casey RACE,” they said.
