The City of Quesnel and the Cariboo Regional District are seeking input from the public on what they would like to see when it comes to a renovation at the Quesnel Arts and Recreation Centre.
Something needs to be done as the facility is starting to show its age, is no longer energy efficient, and needs more accessibility options to meet today’s needs.
City Councillor Laurey-Anne Roodenburg, also the Co-Chair of the North Cariboo Joint Advisory Committee, goes over the three options they’re looking at.
“Option one is an upgrade with no expansion and that is 12.6 million dollars. Option two is an upgrade with expansion and that’s 30.7 million dollars, and then option three is upgrade and expansion with a water slide which is 34.6 million dollars.”
Roodenburg says all three will have some impact on property taxes depending on a variety of factors, including assessments, loan term and the interest rate they get at the time of borrowing.
She says their numbers are based on 2022 property assessments.
“Option 1, which is 12.6 million dollars, would be an impact of 25 dollars per 100 thousand of assessed residential value. Lets skip to to option 3 which is the upgrade and expansion with the water slide which is a 34.6 million dollar price tag. It would mean 76 dollars per 100 thousand dollars of assessed residential value.”
Roodenburg says they will be holding three open houses next month.
“One is June 1st at the Quesnel Arts and Rec Centre. The next one is June 13th at Ecole Red Bluff Lhtako Elementary, and then the third one is June 15th at Bouchie Lake Hall.”
Roodenburg says another option is to go on www.letsconnectquesnel.ca/pool which can be found on the City of Quesnel website.
The deadline for input is Friday, June 24th.