The full-court press is on to avoid forfeiting grant money for the City of North Bay's new multi-use recreational court in the downtown-waterfront area.
Tuesday, North Bay City Council approved a contract worth nearly $400,000 to Kenalex Construction Company Limited for the court's construction.
It will be located adjacent to Municipal Parking Lot 10 at the end of Wyld Street, near the transit terminal (see map above). Although it is billed as a "waterfront" court, its future location is as close to Main Street as Memorial Drive.
Coun. Chris Mayne notes the City of North Bay applied for and is receiving funding for the project from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP): COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream. The program will cover all eligible costs up to $305,114, while the remainder will be borne through the City’s capital budget.
The stipulation for the joint provincial/federal financial contribution is the project must be substantially completed before the end of this year.
"There was a lot of support for multi-use recreational courts in the community in the budget this year," Mayne says. "Thanks to our partners, for about $100,000 from our capital budget we're getting a $400,000 project done."
Coun. Johanne Brousseau shares the multi-use recreation court will have one full basketball court and one basketball half-court, with the appropriate paint markings. Brousseau says line painting for other court sports will be added in the future as necessary. During the last round of budget deliberations, there was talk of including court sports such as tennis, pickleball, and road hockey to the list of potential user groups.
Coun. Scott Robertson says these amenities are "par for the course," for municipalities, adding he was taken aback when he moved here only to learn there were few outdoor basketball courts. He says the court will get plenty of use from his family.
Construction is expected to be completed by late fall and is seen as an essential component of the City's Downtown Waterfront Master Plan.
Coun. Dave Mendicino says this was a project Council pushed for as it was not included in initial budget talks for this year. "This is a further step in creating amenities in support of the Downtown Waterfront Master Plan," he adds.
The bid from Kenalex was the lowest of the three quotes evaluated by the City. Its evaluation considered company ability, experience and price and was determined to provide the best overall value.
