Published in The BANAR April 1998
by Al Ross
I always seem to start the Community Hall update with “In the last BANAR we reported; well, I believe we really have made a very encouraging breakthrough since the last BANAR. A couple of joint meetings have been held with the City, the RBP and the BCA, and it looks as though we have a realistic plan with a correspondingly realistic budget, that has more than an excellent chance of success.
It’s Changed: The addition onto the front of the arena has been rejected, and the current plan calls for a free standing, single floor, wood frame, or concrete block, building, to be located beside the arena on the southern edge of the small parking lot West of the arena. The size of the Hall will be approximately 2,000 square feet. Based upon the costs of a similar hall under construction in Nepean, the estimated cost for our hall is $345,000. this puts the total budget for the project, including the $45,000 that was spent (and lost) on the previous design, to $390,000 – which is $90,000 over the budget set last year.
The City has agreed to provide an additional $60,000 to the project, with the remaining $30,000coming from the community. The Community in this case is the BCA and the RPB. Upon reviewing the financial situation of the RPB and the BCA, an agreement was reached between the two groups that the RPB would provide $20,000 and the BCA $10,000. Both these amounts have been officially approved by their respective Boards, and notification of this has been sent to the City.
So we now have a reasonable budget, which is fully funded, and confidence that the project is doable and will be completed this summer. We will, however, continue with our fundraising plans since significant funds for furnishings and equipment will be required.
What’s the next Step: The City staff are putting together a proposition which will be sent to Council for the March 31st meeting. As soon as council approval is given, the City will hire an Architect to develop working drawings for tendering, and the process will evolve from there. The target opening date is November 1st 1998.