The committee looking into a refit of the Flin Flon Aqua Centre moved to the next stage last week as volunteers came together to work on three key areas: fundraising, grant writing and building planning.
To date the committee has approached municipal governments and community organizations to begin raising funds for the project.
“We’ve had fairly good meetings so far,” said
Cory Thompson, group treasurer. “Nothing set in stone yet, but we’ve laid the foundation.”
A meeting with the Lions Club resulted in a $5,000 commitment to the project, he said.
The total price tag for Option 4, chosen from six upgrade options presented by an architectural group after a study was completed in early 2015, is $7.7 million.
Option 4 includes addressing safety and building code issues, replacing the metal clad exterior, a redesign of the entry, changerooms and the lifeguard room, and adding a fitness room, classroom and therapeutic pool.
Committee chairwoman Tricia Tetlock appeared before Flin Flon city council on Feb. 2 to present Option 4 as the chosen option.
Grant writing is being headed up by committee vice-chairwoman Kara Plamondon. She said the group “can’t really move forward with a lot of grant writing until we get some money in the bank.”
However, Thompson said that having drawings of the project is a big advantage.
Among the grants the committee has looked at is a Manitoba Housing and Community Development program called Community Places that could add between $25,000 and $100,000, according to Plamondon.
Community Places provides funding and planning assistance to non-profit community organizations for facility construction, upgrading, expansion or acquisition projects, according to the Manitoba government website.
Tetlock is head of the fundraising committee. Among the ideas discussed was a payroll deduction program. She planned to present the idea to council on Feb. 2, as well as to other employers in the area.
Other plans include a Go Fund Me account and other fundraising using the Internet, as well as events to raise funds.
Ken Pawlachuk, concerned that construction around the pool basin could cause it to fail, asked, “Once we start disturbing the structure, what happens to the pool basin?”
Thompson, who heads up the building subcommittee, said that’s up the the engineers.
Pawlachuk, who is a Flin Flon city councillor, said he had already raised the issues with the engineers.
“We need to talk to them again … and ask them those questions,” said Thompson.
