Morinville's new recreation complex will be big – really big – and town council wants everyone to help them plan it.
Town council gave about 80 people an update on plans for Morinville's new arena/rec-centre at an open house last Thursday at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre.
Many of you came expecting to hear an announcement on the arena's location, Mayor Lisa Holmes told the crowd.
"We would absolutely love to be able to do that, but unfortunately, we can't."
The town has signed a tentative deal on a location for the arena but can't reveal it yet as it is still working on some of the details, Holmes said.
"We are in step nine-and-a-half of 10 steps," she said, and council will announce the location as soon as possible – likely before the end of the year, she added in a later interview.
Holmes was able to give a few hints about the location, however.
"We have picked a site that's large enough to accommodate much more than just a replacement of the arena," she told the crowd – larger than 60 acres, she clarified in a later interview.
Holmes said in an interview that the site would be connected to the town's trail system to encourage active living and might include a park-and-ride facility. She confirmed that multiple parties were involved in this arena deal (i.e. more than just the town and a landowner).
Consultation plans
A 2013 report from AOBDT Architecture recommended that the town build a 20-acre, $56- to $57-million rec-centre with a 1,200-seat arena, curling rink, pool, flex space, weight area and jogging track.
"These aren't plans," Holmes said of the ideas in the report.
"They're just ideas of what we could do."
While council had originally planned to have a replacement arena open by next fall, she said that was no longer a fixed target.
"We did set a goal, but that goal is flexible."
There are construction techniques that would let the town build at least the arena part of the rec-centre by this fall, Holmes said.
The town will need to spend $150,000 next year to keep the current Ray McDonald Sports Centre open until the end of this winter, she added.
Town council now wants town and regional residents to sign up for any one (or more) of seven consultation groups to plan the arena this January.
Everyone, regardless of skill, background or location, should sign up for the groups, said Coun. Nicole Boutestein.
"We want Sturgeon, we want Legal, we want Bon Accord; we want everyone to come."
Each group will be based on a specific part of the region's population and include a professional facilitator and a town councillor.
The groups are:
1. General public, hosted by Coun. Brennan Fitzgerald
2. Institutional (such as school boards and the military), hosted by Boutestein
3. Current arena users (such as hockey teams), hosted by Coun. Gordon Putnam
4. Sports teams (such as soccer), hosted by Coun. Rob Ladouceur
5. Business, hosted by Coun. Stephen Dafoe
6. Community organizations, hosted by Coun. Barry Turner
7. Partners in the arena deal, hosted by Holmes.
Participants should be prepared to take part in two 1.5-hour sessions in January, Boutestein said.
Interested residents should call the town office at 780-939-4361 to sign up.
Residents impressed
Morinville and District Chamber of Commerce president Simon Boersma, who blasted the town earlier this month in an open letter for not being transparent about its plans for the arena, said he was happy to see that council had brought in an open consultation process.
"We want to keep the lines of communication open."
He was also glad to see that the town had received a big chunk of land for the arena, as it could accommodate future business growth.
Town resident Paul O'Dea said he was encouraged by the town's plans to seek partners for the arena and its willingness to push back the fall 2015 opening date.
"That's going to make a huge difference. It's going to move a lot of people from the 'frustrated' column to the 'excited' column."
Town resident Dale Metcalfe asked council if the rec-centre would have non-hockey-related facilities such as a pool.
"I'm going to be dead and buried by the time we get a swimming pool, I assume."
Council is thinking about putting field spaces, workout rooms and flex spaces in the rec-centre and could build a pool if the public wants to pay for it, Ladouceur replied.
But the latest estimates suggest that the town would lose about $700,000 a year on a pool, he continued.
"In my opinion, a $700,000 loss every year is unsustainable and unreasonable if we want to keep taxes reasonable."
