The Queenstown Lakes District Council decided yesterday to make its own swim school the sole provider at the Aqualand complex at the Queenstown Events Centre from July.
Council-run Alpine Aqualand and the Wakatipu Swim School together provide swimming lessons to more than 900 people at the facility.
In a report for the council at its meeting in Wanaka yesterday, recreation team leader Jendi Paterson said swim schools were ''at best a marginal business'' and the council must consider the most cost-effective option.
Moving to one operator was the ''best'' option, and could gain between $122,000 and $245,000 in additional revenue a year.
Mayor Vanessa van Uden said she felt ''discomfort'' with the recommendation, and did not accept there were financial and operational difficulties with operating more than one swim school at the facility.
Cr Cath Gilmour said any problems associated with having two providers could be resolved, preserving the choice available at present.
Deputy mayor Lyal Cocks said councillors had already discussed the sole provider issue in depth at council workshops and had elected to call for expressions of interest (EOI) on that basis.
''The EOI was a thorough process that everyone had an opportunity to be a part of. It's about operating a council facility and staff in the best way possible.''
Residents would not lose their choice of swim school, because Wakatipu Swim School could continue to operate at a private pool.
An online petition by swim school owner Jane Hughes in support of staying at the facility drew 389 signatures.
