Despite questions and speculation over a possible new Maple Ridge aquatic centre, it’s time now to let staff do the work, a councillor said Monday.
“We have made a decision. Stand by this decision. Wait for the information to come back from staff and then move forward,” said Coun. Kiersten Duncan.
Maple Ridge’s proposed raft of recreation projects was again on the agenda Monday as Coun. Gordy Robson sought clarification from last week’s statement by chief administrator Ted Swabey that council has decided to build a new swimming pool or aquatic centre.
“There seems to be a feeling that we’ve made some kind of unalterable decision that we’re going to build this, no matter what,” Robson said. “We don’t want the public to get the perception that we’re going to reach into their pockets and borrow on their behalf to build this thing.”
The motion made at council’s Dec. 10 meeting is clear, Mayor Nicole Read said. That calls for staff to recommend a site, a concept plan, a public approval process and how the pool would be paid for.
That was decided in tandem with a decision to leave the 30-year Maple Ridge leisure centre pool as is. The pool needs $6 million in repairs.
“So I think the direction we’ve given staff is clear,” Read said.
The cost for an aquatic, wellness centre and curling rink could hit $70 million, while yearly operating costs could be $2 million.
Read said last week that while public expectation exists, no final decision has been made to build a new pool.
Coun. Bob Masse wanted re-assurance, though, that whatever is recommended, “we’ll have a vigorous public consultation, correct?”
Read agreed that must be part of the process.
Public assent, if required, could come in the form of a direct plebiscite, or an alternative approval process, in which 10 per cent of eligible voters could reject a project or force a referendum.
A funding proposal for borrowing up to $110 million to pay for several recreational projects, if approved, is part of the city’s budget this year.
However, Robson wanted to ensure that senior government funding pays for part of whatever council decides to build and referred to the B.C. Lotto Corp.’s TV commercial about Fort St. John’s Pomeroy Sport Centre, which features two ice rinks, a speed-skating track on the second level and a running track on the third level.
Mayor Lori Ackerman says in the commercial that the city has a population of 20,000, yet the centre gets 60,000 visits a month.
However, the lottery money is only used to help with the yearly operating costs of the sports centre.
According to a Fort St. John city staff member, Chances Fort St. John Casino provides about a million dollars a year to the city. That helps pay for the $1.5-million a year in operating costs of the Pomeroy Sport Centre, which opened in 2009.
According to B.C. Lotto Corp’s website, the casino has contributed $4.3 million to the centre’s operating costs in five years.
Initially, total cost to build the Pomeroy Sport Centre was $48 million.
That included a provincial Olympic legacy grant of $12.5 million, a “Fair Share” grant of $10.5 million in lieu of rural industrial tax, and an infrastructure grant of $5 million.
That left the City of Fort St. John paying only $17.5 million as its share of the capital cost.
Another unique aspect of the building is that part of the space is leased out to the school district because it’s being used as classroom space, called the Energetic Learning Centre, for Grade 10 students.
The City of Maple Ridge makes a similar amount from its 10 per cent share of revenues from Chances Maple Ridge, about $1 million a year. About half of that goes for infrastructure, while council allots the other half-million dollars to different projects.
In the City of Langley, about $6 million a year for the last three years came from Cascades Casino and was used partly for construction of the Timms Community Centre.
In Dawson Creek, the city used $2.3 million of its share of revenues generated at Chances Dawson Creek to help towards the final push for the opening of the Calvin Kruk Centre for the Arts, in the fall of 2014.
Dawson Creek, with a population of about 15,000, also has an aquatic centre, built in 2007, that features an eight-lane, 25-metre competition pool, a leisure pool, hot tub, tots pool, water slide, lazy river, saunas and climbing wall, along with a walking track.
In Richmond, $50 million in revenue from the River Rock Casino Resort helped with the capital cost of the Richmond Olympic Oval, while in Abbotsford, the city put in $800,000 from Chances Abbotsford towards operating costs of the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre.
