Morinville's new rec-centre will be just east of town in Sturgeon County.
Morinville town council held a public meeting last Jan. 27 at the Community Cultural Centre to unveil the site for the town's new recreation centre.
The rec-centre will be built on a 77-acre site on the north side of Hwy. 642 east of East Boundary Road in Sturgeon County, said Morinville Mayor Lisa Holmes. The land was purchased from a private landowner for an amount that the town couldn't legally disclose before it takes possession on May 1.
Holmes said council couldn't disclose this location at last December's open house since it was deep in talks with Sturgeon County at the time. (The county had to approve the sale before it could happen.)
"We had a lot of hoops to jump through," she said, including some tricky questions on the town's plans to eventually annex these lands.
"They have said that they will not stand in our way when we go and plan to annex that property."
Holmes said this deal speaks to the strength of the relationship between the town and the county, and noted that the county has been excited by and supportive of the project since the beginning.
"This really is a momentous occasion for the town."
Thumbs-up for site
Town council originally had 13 sites under consideration for the rec-centre, Holmes said. That dropped to three – the chosen site, the public works yard, and near the fish and game pond – after the town considered 13 different factors including cost, access, servicing, size and visibility.
This site best met all 13 criteria, being big enough for future growth and visible and accessible from all parts of the town and the region, Holmes said.
"It really signals to the region and the people of the region that we are thinking regional," she said of the project.
The site is very accessible and big enough to host a school and some big-box stores, said Simon Boersma, president of the Morinville and District Chamber of Commerce. He pictured it eventually becoming like the Costco site in St. Albert.
"It opens new doors for new businesses to come in," he continued, and could draw further investment to the town.
Town resident Murray Knight was glad to see co-operation between the town and the county, and said this was a great place to put the rec-centre.
"Our community can only expand to the east, the south and the north," he said, so the town will eventually grow around this site.
"It'll be the centre of town."
Next steps
Council expects to start construction on the rec-centre later this year, Holmes said. What goes in the centre will be determined in part by the town's ongoing community forums on the subject – forums that, so far, have drawn less than 20 people per session.
That's low for a community of this size, said Holmes, who hopes more people will take part in the remaining sessions.
"This is their opportunity to have their voice heard, and it's up to them to take it."
The rec-centre itself will likely take up just 20 of the site's 77 acres, leaving plenty of room for businesses and one or more schools, Holmes said. They'll also have to leave a three-acre wide buffer strip along the west of the site to account for the Manawan Canal and a natural gas facility.
Sturgeon County has yet to figure out how it will chip in to build this centre as it was still working on its recreation cost-sharing formula, said county Mayor Tom Flynn.
"We have to find a formula that works for everybody."
The two councils plan to use their $50,000 provincial governance grant to create an inter-municipal plan to govern how this area develops, Holmes said.
Council has agreed to keep the Ray McDonald arena open until the end of this hockey season and will assess what's needed to keep it running longer later this year, Holmes said.
"If we can extend the life for a year or two, we will."
