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City to pursue funding for temporary Community Centre

City council has agreed to track down funding for a temporary Community Centre
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An example of what a fabric-covered steel structure could look like (Courtesy of Elk Valley Fieldhouse Society)

City council has confirmed financial support for a temporary Community Centre.

On Oct. 8, council unanimously agreed to allocate $525,000 of government funds for the construction of a fabric-covered steel structure, to function as a temporary Community Centre while the City investigates long-term replacement. The decision followed a presentation from Elk Valley Fieldhouse Society on Sept. 24 to pitch the idea of the building.

All of council was present at the meeting except for Mayor Milligan, who is currently away.

Council discussed whether to commit to the project right away or research further funding streams first, but ultimately decided that it was better to get the project going sooner rather than later.

"The Fieldhouse Society has put so much into this. They've really taken the initiative. For them, time is of the essence in terms of getting something together," councillor Ted Shoesmith told the Free Press. "What was important to them, was that we commit to it, not necessarily the nuts and bolts."

Shoesmith is filling in as Deputy Mayor in Milligan's absence.

The City would like to see the majority of money come from the Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI), with smaller amounts potentially coming from other sources like grants, donations and property taxation. RMI is a government program that provides funding to help small communities build and diversify tourism infrastructure. 

The City's Chief Administrative Officer Michael Boronowski said getting money from RMI might require approval from the provincial government and subsequent amendments to the Resort Development Strategy, a document that provides an overview of how the City uses RMI funds and is updated every three years. The City is currently reviewing whether provincial approval is required. 

Once funding is secured, council will begin working on developing a lease and agreements with the Fieldhouse Society.

The total cost of the construction has been estimated as $2,250,000 to $2,450,000. Shoesmith said getting most of the money from RMI would mean cost to the taxpayer would be lower.

"We're getting an important piece of infrastructure for the town and without this, we actually wouldn't have the opportunity to come up with something," he said. "I don't think the City can come up with something that fits all these purposes and scratches all these itches as quickly or as cheaply for the taxpayer."

"My personal hope and opinion is that this will be mostly covered by RMI," he added.



About the Author: Gillian Francis

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