Engineering designs for the new proposed aquatic centre are approved, but there is no guarantee that the project is moving forward.
Timmins City Council has approved the designs for pool and multi-use facility, but will not be moving ahead with the $48- million project until it gets some funding from upper levels of government. The plans to replace the Archie Dillon pool by Perkins + Will include an eight-lane competition pool, play zone and leisure pool. The multi-use portion includes an indoor walking track, squash courts, meeting room and connection to the Archie Dillon Sportsplex Arena. Click here for the design concepts and a video walk through.
Now that council has approved the final designs, the city is tender ready is funding becomes available. Council says this project is contingent on grants coming to the city. Mayor Steve Black says previously the city was looking to apply for a grant that would have had the federal government cover 40 per cent of the costs, with the provincial government and the city both paying 30 per cent.
Black says the purpose of the meeting is to show the province that council has done its due diligence and all the work required to make the project shovel-ready. He says hopefully when the government gets to the point of talking about recreation funding, this project will be in their minds.
Councillor Rick Dubeau says he is concerned that discussions around the facility originally started with a budget of $15-million with that number continuously growing. Dubeau says its not what we want, but what we can afford because there are a lot of needs in the community that need to be addressed.
The possibility to scale back the project has not been fully discussed. Mayor Black says that will have to be a discussion when we hear about what funding is available, which will most likely be after the election. Black says along with funding, there will be a community fundraising initiative and hopefully some support from corporate partners. He says that is a conversation for when the city gets to that stage.
If the funding comes in a a 40-30-30 split then Timmins will be paying about $14.5-million dollars. If the funding only covers the $36-million construction costs, then the city would be on the hook for its share plus the $11.9-million soft costs that include things like furniture.