Four St. Albert projects benefitted from a recent federal funding spree.
As the federal election nears – the campaign period could begin as early as next week – members of parliament have been busy doling out grants to communities across the country, including in St. Albert and Sturgeon County.
On Thursday, federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose paid a visit to the Akinsdale/Kinex arenas to announce a combined investment of almost $386,000 for improvements to the late-1970s facility, the Arden Theatre and playgrounds in the Erin Ridge and Rivercrest Crescent areas.
The funding comes through the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure program, which supports renovations, expansions and rehabilitation of existing facilities, and is meant to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
“The projects that will benefit from this funding really are the beating hearts of our communities,” said Ambrose during the announcement.
The Akinsdale and Kinex arenas received $25,000 to put toward converting the meeting and storage space between the two buildings into a warm-up area for athletes.
“It really comes down to liability,” St. Albert Minor Hockey Association president Dave Bell said. “When I played hockey here you could warm up wherever you want; you could run wherever you want. But now you can’t, and we’re really limited by square footage here.”
The project is in line with Hockey Canada and Canadian Sport For Life’s long-term athlete development model, which recommends that players have a space to warm up for 15 minutes prior to hitting the ice, said minor hockey grant co-ordinator Alice Cameron.
“In the winter you can’t really run outside,” she said. “You see them in late fall and early spring running outside even though it’s really cold because there’s no space here.”
While the hockey association is the largest user of the facility, the project will benefit a number of other sport organizations, like lacrosse and ringette.
St. Albert Minor Hockey Association, who is spearheading the renovations, is waiting for one final grant to come through from the provincial government, before moving to the tendering process.
The project has also received support from the city in the amount of $100,000, as well as $65,000 from the provincial government.
Bell hopes to have the improvements completed for the start of the 2016-17 season.
The world-class Arden Theatre received $234,500 to support upgrades to flooring, as well as electrical, lighting and audio systems in Progress Hall.
Currently the space is used for rehearsals, functions and community gatherings, but could eventually serve as an alternative performance space.
“(The refurbishment) will enhance the services that we’re able to provide to the community,” said Kelly Jerrett, director of cultural services for the City of St. Albert. “It broadens the use of that room and it will enhance the experience of the audience and the participants in that room.”
The City of St. Albert received $126,300 to support the installation of playground equipment in the areas of Erin Ridge and Rivercrest Crescent.
On Thursday, Mayor Nolan Crouse thanked the community groups and city staff involved in the grant writing process, as well as the federal government for their support.
“We’ll spend this money wisely, and certainly the residents of St. Albert will benefit immensely,” Crouse said.
Ambrose was also in Sturgeon County on Thursday to announce the support of $82,660 for a new playground at Namao School.
The federal government made 14 community infrastructure funding announcements on Thursday alone, furthering speculation that the Conservative government is set to call an election this weekend.
Ambrose simply said that she and the government were anxious for communities to get “shovels in the ground.”
