Moyne Shire councillors unanimously voted on Wednesday to investigate whether a skills-based community-run board could take over the centre. Council officers noted a "general decline in the capability and capacity" of the current Belfast Aquatics committee to manage the pool.

Community and corporate services director David Rae said the move to a more rigorous board structure was critical to resolving the organisation's financial strife.

Belfast Aquatics ran in to trouble in early 2022 when its insurance lapsed, forcing the council to step in and pay $91,000 to cover inflated premiums with another insurer.

The council also paid a consultant up to $20,000 to fix deficient governance documentation, and commissioned a six-month investigation into how the centre was run, at an additional cost of $46,310.

That investigation yielded a report that said there were only two feasible long-term options for managing Belfast Aquatics.

One option was for the council to take over the facility and tender out its management to a professional organisation.

The consultant calculated this would cost $4.1 million over the next 15 years, on top of the $200,000 per year the council already budgeted for the pool, meaning the total cost would be $7.1 million.

The other viable option, which the councillors voted for at the meeting, was for the centre to remain in community hands, but be run by a competent board with more rigorous governance structures.

Councillors voted to authorise chief executive officer Brett Davis to investigate whether this was a realistic long-term option, particularly whether there were enough locals with the expertise, time and interest to take on such a role.

The investigation will cost up to $25,000 and Mr Davis is due to report back by September 30. While the report found the community-run option was cheaper than paying a professional organisation to manage the centre, it would still imply a huge cost over 15 years.

The council would continue to pay Belfast Aquatics $200,000 a year - $3 million over 15 years - and the capital costs were estimated at $3.6 million over the same period, for a total of $6.6 million.

While a community-run board could offset some of those costs by fundraising, council officers said it was likely the council would end up funding "significant capital renewal and upgrade" for the facility.

Apart from a passing mention by Cr Daniel Meade, who called the pool a "massive cost to council", none of the councillors raised the significant sums involved in keeping the centre open.

Current Belfast Aquatics committee chair Anne McIlroy addressed the meeting, saying she didn't think the current committee structure needed to change, and said it now had 10 members after adding six new people in recent months.

Ms McIlroy said the facility was "not really a big burden on ratepayers" because the council's annual $200,000 subsidy was mostly covered by a surcharge on council caravan parks.

Mayor Karen Foster said in a statement the volunteer committee had done a great job but "a fresh approach" was required.

The Standard understands Port Fairy locals have lobbied councillors to keep the pool open, and none of the options in the consultant's report investigated a scenario where the facility would close or be used for other purposes.