A COMPANY owned by AFL premiers Richmond is among three short-listed operators selected to bid for the rights to manage the Albury and Wodonga pools for the next five years.
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Aligned Leisure, which manages the health, fitness and leisure operations of the Tigers, has been joined by YMCA and Belgravia Leisure on the short-list confirmed by Albury Council this week.
YMCA has managed Wodonga’s WAVES facility since it opened and Belgravia bid for the rights to run the Albury and Lavington pools in 2011.
Due to the Albury and Wodonga pool management contracts ending at the same time, the two councils agreed to explore a joint management model.
But the move has spelt the end of the Albury pools being operated on a family-based model.
The Albury and Lavington pools have been run by Paul Tanner and Lawrie McInnes after members of the Mamouney family were in charge at both swim centres for 20 years.
Matt Mamouney also had a lengthy stint running the former Stanley Street pool in Wodonga.
The company formed by Mr Tanner and Mr McInnes to run the Albury pools submitted an expression of interest for the cross-border management rights, but withdrew.
The Stanley Street pool controversially shut in 2012 in the expectation the central Wodonga land would be snapped up by a developer.
A joint assessment panel consisting of three staff members each from Albury and Wodonga councils – James Jenkins, Peter Hanes, Michael Stanton, Trevor Ierino, Leon Schultz and Jenelle Williamson – has considered the expressions of interest in recent months.
The management rights also include the Wodonga and Sports and Leisure Centre which has an indoor 25m pool.
The preferred tenderer is expected to be revealed by the two councils in March next year with the contract to start from July 1.
