It's the end of an era for the Big Hill Pool and the beginning of something yet to be determined at its 5th Ave. location.

Demolition started today, Nov. 21, of the pool that serves Cochrane well for three decades and an empty lot is expected to be all that remains in about two weeks.

Corey Visser, of Visco Demolition and Recycling, maneuvered the buck of the front loader into the west front corner of the building shortly after 9 a.m. this morning as he started tearing down the building. In all, about 98 per cent of the debris will avoid the landfill and be repurposed.

Much concern has been expressed for the future of the site and town council has shown a willingness to continue to use the land for public service. Exactly what shape that will take will be determined in a future public consultation.

“We know this location is highly valued by everyone in Cochrane,” says Mayor Jeff Genung. “Before any decisions are made for this site, we’ll ask for the community’s input on the long-term vision for public uses there.”

He also believes this discussion could result in one of the public task forces he advocated during his fall election bid.

The cost of demolition came in at one-third of the amount budgeted by the town. The accepted bid was $264,000 and the town had initially budgeted $740,000 for its destruction.

Some members of the public expressed concern over the projected cost of demolition while some believed the building could be repurposed. In its first real decision, the new council agreed with the former council's decision to lay it to rest, largely because of problems associated with reusing old moisture-ridden pools.