Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Greater Napanee council made a major splash in regards to the proposed aquatics centre, receiving a financial plan report from the aquatics committee that outlines potential dollar figures and timelines.
Council discussed the matter during the April 27 meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom and broadcast on the town’s YouTube channel.
The report includes an ask of $75,000 be included in the town’s 2022 budget for a professional rendering of the pool facility, which would be built at the Strathcona Paper Centre. It also includes a plan to place $625,000 in reserve to have engineered drawings completed in 2028, with construction in 2029-2030 for a multi-use aquatics centre, with the town paying $4.6 million of the projected $14.6 million cost (in 2018 dollars), contingent on grants from the federal and provincial government contributing 66.6 per cent of the capital expense. That translates to $4.6 million from both provincial and federal levels.
Greater Napanee Mayor Marg Isbester, Deputy Mayor Max Kaiser and councillors Ellen Johnson, Bob Norrie and Dave Pinnell Jr. voted in favour of accepting the report.
Pinnell Jr., who is also a member of the aquatics committee, says professional renderings could be key in helping to secure funding from upper tiers. He said it could have been a factor in the project not being able to secure its $10 million application to the ICIP Partnership and Grant Funding in 2020.
“Our first ask of $75,000 monies for 2022 is to get some kind of rendering drawings of what a pool would look like at the Strathcona Paper Centre,” said Pinnell Jr. “It came to light that we didn’t get the funding from a grant that we had put through and we feel that if we have some drawings or some kind of conceptual imaging of what this will look like it would help us out and maybe help us secure some other financial grants.”
The $75,000 will now be part of the proposed 2022 budget, which will still need to be approved next year.
Pinnell Jr. pointed to the growth of the community as a reason why he feels council needs to move the aquatics project forward.
“If we just look at the amount of projects that we have on the go right now for housing, there’s more people coming to this town,” he said. “There’s going to be more tax dollars…Just right here in the CAO report, this is public so I’ll say it, there’s Limestone Ridge. This is a new one that we’re just starting to talk about that has a proposal of 136 new single detached units, 50 semidetached dwelling units, 94 row dwelling units, 38 townhouses and 165 apartment units. This is a brand new project that’s coming plus the ones that we already know about. Couple that with 2029 build date (for the proposed aquatics centre), it’s one of those things do we start to plan for it now so that we can have it built when we can really use it?”
Kaiser supported the report, pointing out that they weren’t tied to anything financially with this step.
“I welcome this at this time,” said Kaiser. “It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been on council for coming up on seven years and it was an election item on that previous term. I fully support some move in any direction. Considering where we are with the pandemic and everything else, we’re looking at a $75,000 outlay next year. We’re looking at a five-year plan and beginning the year after to start building a reserve. We’ve got time to react if the sneeze continues to hit the fan or what have you. I fully support this and I think it’s time to move ahead.”
Isbester agreed.
“I think we at least need to make a step forward to a commitment that if it doesn’t pan out as Deputy Mayor Kaiser says, it doesn’t pan out,” said Isbester.
The report indicates the proposed aquatics centre would carry annual operational costs of $1.1 million.