ST. PAUL – The Town of St. Paul will be moving forward with the design phase of a multi-season outdoor recreation facility.
On Dec. 9, Town of St. Paul council debated if it should approve including the design of an $800,000 proposed multi-season outdoor recreation facility in its five-year Capital Plan.
The design would cost $142,000, which the Town has applied for a grant to help pay. If the grant is successful, it would cover $70,000 of the $142,000 amount.
Coun. Nathan Taylor expressed hesitation in committing $70,000 upfront without clear community support and financial commitments from groups who may benefit from the facility’s use – which the Town previously reached out to, seeking support.
He said that in the past, council has dealt with promises from community groups, where verbal commitments did not materialize into actual funding.
“If we have a commitment from the community to support it, I'd absolutely support it. But I worry about spending $70,000 up front and then finding out that it's not what the community would want,” he said.
Coun. Brad Eamon said he is of the opposite opinion, stating that based on multiple municipal surveys over the past several years, the community has consistently identified the need for some type of outdoor facility.
He did acknowledge that it can be difficult to get firm financial commitments from community groups before having a detailed plan to present.
“But now that we need to put skin in the game and actually come up with a plan where we can actually go pitch this back to the community of what this looks like . . . we're going to have some reservations?” he questioned.
“I get it, times are tough. But I think this is something the community has asked for,” said Eamon, suggesting council move forward with at least the design phase.
Eamon believes that once the Town has a clear design and vision for the facility, it will be easier to go to user groups and seek financial support.
Following more discussions, Coun. Gary Ward made a motion to approve $142,000 in funding for the preliminary planning and design work on the proposed facility under the Town’s 2025 Capital Budget. The motion was carried.
If the provincial grant to cover 50 per cent of the $142,000 design is approved, the remaining $70,000 will be reallocated to other capital projects.
This means, that even if the Town’s grant application is not approved, the design phase of the project will still be moving forward.
