A new gymnastics facility and soccer complex renovation, a swimming pool renovation project at the rec centre or a new performing arts centre.
Those were the three choices the North Cariboo Joint Committee was given last night when it comes to applying to the Canada Infrastructure program.
This committee is recommending the swimming pool.
CRD Area C Director John Massier…
“I think our core infrastructure of our arena and the rec centre, the pool-rec centre, are the things we need to focus on to keep those basic ones in good working order. I think I would be inclined to keep what we do have in good working order and upgraded, before we sort of go onto stuff that we would like to have.”
Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson noted that the theatre project was not yet shelf ready…
“I think the theatre one shouldn’t be part of our dialogue for two reasons….one, i don’t think there is time for us to really take a look at the feasibility study, take a look at the land issue, we haven’t looked at location issues, to get a November meeting of a new Joint Planning and get into December to get a January deadline to get something that is actually worked up to the level that is required. We also don’t know what we’re going to achieve in the Lhtako-Dene Cultural Centre, one of the venues in that cultural centre may be able to accommodate 350 people in a gathering space, so there may be a nice blend in there.”
Simpson also says the public has been clear where its priorities are in a poll that was done leading up to the arena project…
“In the event that we would have to go to referendum I have no issues that we could win a referendum on a major upgrade and renovation to the rec centre, especially if there was incremental funding to that project to make it realized without taxpayers bearing the whole cost, so to me that’s the one that has the best opportunity for success, the biggest impact in our community on our retention and attraction initiatives and I think it’s an aged facility that desperately needs to be upgraded and brought up to standards.”
This funding program is for larger projects with a minimum request of 150 thousand dollars with no cap.
All tolled there is 134.84 million dollars available for projects throughout the province.
It covers up to 73.33 percent of projects with municipalities being responsible for the rest.
The estimated cost of the swimming pool renovation project is 15 million dollars.