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City of Powell River applies for recreation complex improvements

Submission calls for $2.5 million from federal/provincial program
Powell River Recreation Complex
Powell River Recreation Complex

City of Powell River submitted an application in time to meet a Wednesday, January 23, deadline for $2,554,011 in grant funding for upgrades and improvements to Evergreen Theatre, hockey rink dressing rooms and washroom accessibility at Powell River Recreation Complex.

If the grant is awarded to Powell River, funding will come from the Canada-British Columbia Infrastructure Program, and supplemental funds from city resources totalling $602,562 on the condition of the federal/provincial grant approval.

The process moved quickly through city hall with director of parks, recreation and culture Ray Boogaards reporting to committee of the whole on Tuesday, January 15, and receiving unanimous approval by council two days later.

While council decided to proceed with some of the upgrades, in his report to COTW, Boogaards said several projects require attention and emphasized the lack of accessibility at the recreation complex. According to Boogaards, front doors to the lower and upper entrances are not accessible and 21 other doors have obsolete automatic openers.

“Sometimes the biggest chairs actually get stuck in the disabled entrance,” said Boogaards.

Washrooms are a major issue throughout the building, with 10 that are not accessible.   

“I had a phone call quite a while ago from a gentleman who was there to watch his grandson play hockey,” said Boogaards. “He had to go home because his wheelchair couldn't get into the washroom upstairs.”

Boogaards said the heating system in Evergreen Theatre is in a terrible state and the seating requires replacement, and hockey rink dressing rooms need new rubberized flooring.

He added that flooring throughout the complex is in terrible shape, including the pool deck, which needs to be replaced with a non-stick surface.

The 43-year-old building has a long list of items that need attention, including LED lighting, reception counter and the information board on Joyce Avenue.

“We have to start addressing this. This is the hub of our community. This is something people are constantly using,” said Boogaards. “We know our numbers are going up. We know the pool is more crowded, rinks are more crowded and the fitness rooms are getting more crowded.”

Financially, the upgrades and improvements would be funded through the infrastructure grant and supplement funds from city’s reserve and surplus accounts: $530,315 from Powell River Community Forest Reserve for extended theatre seating and rink dressing rooms; $40,243 from unappropriated surplus for the remaining extended theatre seating and rink dressing rooms; and $32,004 from unappropriated surplus for washroom upgrades.

Council also voted that staff include unfunded recreation complex upgrades and improvements totalling $1,225,000 to the 2019 five-year financial plan budget process.