The taxpayer-paid portion of the city’s new community and recreation centre is shrinking.
Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing, announced $2 million from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund on Friday for the project. He says they know how important this project is.
“That’s why we invested almost $2 million into the cricket pitch just a few yards from here and that’s why we’re investing another $2 million into the arena,” says Fedeli.
Mayor Peter Chirico welcomes the funding.
“Every dollar that has flowed from the province to help us at this complex, including the funds for the cricket field and this new $2 million today, that reduces our cost to the taxpayer,” he says. “We can’t thank the NOHFC and our MPP, Vic Fedeli enough.”
Chirico says work on the centre continues ‘on time and on budget’.
“Everything is proceeding well,” he says. “All of the pressure points that originally thought that there could be some delays, we’re past those. Now it’s full steam ahead. It should be enclosed in the next three weeks so they can continue to work throughout the winter and it’s full speed ahead.”
The $63 million facility will feature two ice pads, a walking track, a large community room, and 14 dressing rooms.
It’s scheduled to be completed next August.
More than $35 million in federal funding is going towards the project, along with $1.5 million from the city’s share of revenues for hosting Cascades Casino.
