Staff at Dundee’s Olympia Centre had to be hosed down after the toddler pool was “super-dosed” with dangerous levels of chlorine.
I shake my head in disbelief.
How close did it come to toddlers needing hosed down?
Almost as bad, it took months for Leisure and Culture Dundee (LCD) to properly cooperate with a freedom of information request to tell of this.
Public safety is at stake, this can’t be swept under the carpet.
Do they guarantee this super-dosing can’t happen again when kids are in the pool?
How dare LCD – who say these issues have been addressed – keep this sort of information from parents.
It makes the organisation look like an utter shambles. Probably because it IS an utter shambles.
‘Fawlty Towers was run better’
LCD is headed by an executive, Judy Dobbie, earning £120,850 per year.
But it functions like a tin-pot operation, a secret society with a leader who either won’t do the job properly or isn’t competent to do the job properly.
A salary of that magnitude should ensure the boss is of top quality.
One who is fully on top of the brief, who can manage effectively, put best working practices in place, and organise the operation so everyone knows what their job is, what their responsibilities are, and which has clear chains of command and accountability.
Judy Dobbie does not appear to be able to do any of that.
Under her stewardship we have a swimming and leisure centre that, if it isn’t closed for long periods, has iron bars dropping on to public areas, multiple leaks, widespread corrosion, water mysteriously disappearing from the pool, and toddlers at risk of plunging into a pool toxic with chlorine.
Fawlty Towers was run better than this.
Or do I have it all wrong, Judy?
If you think you are doing the job brilliantly, put yourself forward to the media to explain your side of the story.
Answer all questions – why did you keep this secret for so long?
You are a public servant, serve the public the truth.
‘Ongoing embarrassment’
Dundee desperately needs to get on top of this Olympia saga. Month after month, year after year, it generates negative headlines.
It’s an ongoing embarrassment.
And what has happened with the independent probe?
What preparations have been made since it was announced in March?
We’ve had seven months of silence.
Has someone been selected to head it? A shortlist drawn up?
It’s long past time there was an update.
Olympia inquiry
Mark Flynn, you are now fully ensconced in the job of leader of the city council.
You inherit John Alexander’s promise to hold an inquiry.
Your city calls upon you to clarify what’s happening.
Your response will set the tone for your time in charge. Will you communicate with Dundee? Will you be a robust, fearless decision-maker?
Will you cut through the veils of secrecy that have, for too long, hung around the city chambers?
Will you stride forward to lead – or cower away from the difficult bits of the job?
Here’s your chance to show your calibre. Your first big test.
When does the Olympia inquiry start, Mark?
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