It may be too late for the Recreation Commission to pursue funding grants for upgrades at the Castlegar Rec Complex. After news from the architect at Wednesday’s meeting, Commission Chair and Castlegar City Councillor Bergen Price says they may have to re-evaluate the plan.
“Part of what I ran for when I ran for council is I’ll have a particular position until I get other information that contradicts. The other day we talked and I was pretty confident that we were going to get something done and it would be a failure if we didn’t but circumstances change. We heard the gentleman say that Class C looked like it was the only way to go and basically there was no opportunity to apply if that was the requirement.”
The application for the grant would have to be in by January 23 and given the tight timeline there’s only so much the architect can do. Other applicants are putting forward much more detailed plans and if that’s the requirement from the ministry, then the application won’t be able to go forward. The details are being clarified, but there’s budget considerations to be worked out as well.
Regional District of Central Kootenay staff also raised concerns that there isn’t a clean vision for the proposal yet. There will likely be a second intake opportunity at a later point which was suggested as a possibility as well.
The Commission is considering upgrades for the walking track, social hub, aquatic centre and some necessary items that are also needed. They haven’t yet determined which projects to move ahead with; however, Commissioner Price says he’s willing to take the next steps forward if it’s possible.
“I think we need to get our information. We need to get our ducks in a row and we need to move forward. We need to take the information that we have on the table and we need to get a clear path.”
The Commission is scheduled to meet again on December 19.
