Town, GSHD partner for potential rec facility

Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter

 

The Town of Strathmore called a special council meeting for Dec. 23.
One of the matters brought forward was the idea of a partnership between Golden Hills School division (GHSD) and the town when it comes to meeting some of the recreation needs. The Division has been granted, in principal, the approval to build another school in Strathmore for Kindergarten to Grade 9.
Bevan Daverne, the superintendant of schools for GHSD, has met with the town several times in the past few weeks “about possibly having a joint facility where they may possibly not have a gymnasium, and possibly have a dome beside it at some location within town,” said Chief Administrative Officer Dwight Stanford.
“They would be able to take the money from the proposed gym and put that towards a dome, then the town could put in money as well and then we could have a facility that could be used by the community.”
Councillor Pat Fule added that there would still be the ability for a typical gym facility for the school, but that would be on one end of the dome and the rest would be for soccer and lacrosse and other indoor sports.
The dome could house a variety of things. In some cases communities have added a library, meeting rooms, a fitness facility and an indoor running/walking track.
A dome would be 160 feet wide by 400 feet long, providing a large space to meet recreational needs. It is also a cost effective measure to take.
“It costs about 30 per cent less to build a dome than a regular building, and the energy cost is about 30 per cent less, so all of a sudden I was very encouraged about a dome,” said Stanford.
He said they are at the point now of needing some sort of motion so that GHSD can begin pursuing different avenues, some of which might not be available without the partnership.
Despite the meetings and discussions, Councillor Bob Sobol suggested it was still in the early stages to get this accomplished, but said it is clear that GHSD is looking for commitment.
“I would be prepared to make a motion and the motion would be that council approve in principal a joint partnership between Golden Hills School Division and the Town of Strathmore for a recreational facility that would include an agreement for community use of the facility with a maximum town contribution of $5 million,” said Sobol.
The motion was carried. Additional discussions will take place as a location and other details are decided upon.
At the beginning of the meeting, Steve Grajczyk was sworn in and is officially the seventh member of council.