The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Mayor Dennis Ballard views the new primary health care centre going up in the community hall parking lot as an ideal way to increase traffic uptown. And with next year's Main St. resurfacing and the potential for the Communityplex to be built at the golf course, the mayor said uptown may become even busier. "That would pretty much change the traffic flow," he said. A number of Main St. business owners have said that business is down and that fewer people are coming uptown since the Flintoba Shopping Centre opened in 2002. See 'Moving' P.# Con't from P.# Crews recently began preparing the northwest corner of the community hall parking lot for the construction of an 8,000 sq. ft. health care centre to be utilized by the NOR-MAN Regional Health Authority. The facility will bring together under one roof a handful of health services currently spread out in three separate buildings ? the hospital, 50 Church St. and 84 Church St. Those services consist of the Community Nurse Resource Centre; Mental Health; Public Health; Health Promotion; Health Prevention and Education; Baby First; Supportive Housing; and diabetes services. Parking for the 25-30 staff members will be made available on nearby North Ave., including space behind The Reminder offices. To compensate for the lost community hall parking, vehicles will park on the nearby HBMS property along the Perimeter Highway. Mayor Ballard believes the parking situation will benefit from the move, as people, the elderly especially, will no longer have to climb the staircase leading up to the R.H. Channing Auditorium. He said the parking lot had gone largely unused, save for a few major functions held at the hall each year. That lack of usage combined with a desire for more uptown development prompted council to approve the construction on City property, the mayor said, adding that the tax revenue will be a bonus. One misconception floating about is that council approved the project on the assumption that the Communityplex, which would replace the community hall, is a foregone certainty. Mayor Ballard set the record straight by saying the City would have okayed the building regardless and had in fact looked at alternate uses for the parking lot before this opportunity came up. The NOR-MAN Regional Health Authority expects the building to be completed by the end of the year, with a ceremonial grand opening slated for the new year. Authority spokesperson Corliss Patterson said two other locations had been considered, but this one proved to be the most cost effective. "We want to have all our primary programs under one roof," she said. "We felt the downtown area was central to the services we provide."
