City awards contract for recreational facility feasibility study

North Bay City Council has announced they will undertake a feasibility study on the community’s need (and desire) for an arena and/or a multi-use recreational facility.

The need for ice time, field and indoor recreational space is always at a premium in the community and is a hot topic.

In some cities, an integrated approach, including many aspects for shopping, dining, recreation, even office space has been seen combined into these multi-use facilities.

North Bay has a complicated relationship with its surrounding neighbours who also do their best to maintain quality and affordable locations for their communities to gather and take part in everything from fairs to recreation.

So it would seem, now more than ever, that North Bay City Council is ready to hear people's concerns about what the community is missing in terms of arenas and recreational facilities.

However, the elephant in the room is always cost - to have the city build facilities that are effective at meeting the community’s needs as well as their budget.

The contract, awarded to Monteith Brown Planning Consultants Ltd., in the amount of $111,877.50 (excluding HST) is to conduct a study that will assess the needs of the City to renovate, replace, or construct arena facilities as well as the need and feasibility to construct an indoor multi-use recreational facility.

In 2007, North Bay Partners in Hockey made a presentation to City Council requesting that Council consider their recommendation for a feasibility study to determine the need for a new arena or additional ice surface.

The report cited growth in participation, the need to use and utilize ice at arenas outside the City and the condition of our aging City arenas.

City Council recommended that the request be sent to Community Services Committee for consideration.

The feasibility study was not approved at that time, but was identified as a future capital expenditure.

In 2010, the Partners organization again approached the City with respect to the need to assess the future viability of the three existing arenas and their usage.

In addition, another community group came forward and expressed the need to identify other indoor recreational facilities to meet the needs of the community from a recreational activity perspective, as well as sport.

It was agreed the feasibility study would encompass both arena and other indoor recreation facilities.

An advisory group, including both City and community representation, was established to assist in developing and evaluating the Recreational Facility Study for consulting services, as well as supporting the feasibility study.

The community group includes representatives from North Bay Partners in Hockey, Sport North Bay, Canadore College/Nipissing University and a local representative.

The net cost of the study, including HST less HST rebate will be $113,846.00.

An amount of $100,000 has been allocated in the 2011 Community Services Capital Budget, of which $50,000 was to be received from third party contributions.

A community group contribution in the amount of $20,000 toward the study has been confirmed. In addition, a Fednor grant in the amount of $49,000 has also been confirmed.

Total available funding for this project now stands at $119,000.

Councillor Dave Mendicino says that it will be a comprehensive study that looks at all the current indoor facilities with the purpose of identifying what needs to be done in the short and long term.

“Will it do us 20, 30, 40 years down the road,” he asks.

“Or do we need to start looking at a multi-use recreational facility?”

Mendicino says that looking at the above ground infrastructure is no different than looking at what's beneath the surface.

“To continue to repair old infrastructure, it costs a lot of money,” he says, pointing out that council spent $700,000 of its Capital Budget on indoor facilities.

Chair of Community Services, Councillor Sean Lawlor, says that council needs to get a handle on the ongoing costs needed to maintain the current services as compared to making improvements or building new facilities.

“Without having a study in front of us to compare those numbers, we're taking a shot in the dark,” says Lawlor.

“We want to be prepared and have as much information as possible.”

The study will begin shortly and council hopes to see the published results later on in the year.