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Pool core part of proposed recreational facility

Consultant’s report received by three municipal units in Kings County

JASON MALLOY ANNAPOLIS VALLEY REGISTER jason.malloy @saltwire.com @JasonMa47772994

A new recreational facility in Kings County could cost nearly $60 million and take upwards of seven years to complete if the three municipal councils agree to move forward with the project.

The information is contained in a recently released feasibility study commissioned by the Municipality of the County of Kings as well as the towns of Wolfville and Kentville.

“Such a potential major project, of course, comes with major costs,” said Rob Frost, deputy chief administrative officer with the County of Kings.

He led the three councils through a joint discussion on the report on March 7.

Kings County Mayor

Peter Muttart said the idea was for all three councils to receive the report publicly at the same time.

“We’ve got a five- to sevenyear timeline here. It’s not going to happen tomorrow,” he said.

The estimated cost for the project, which would include a pool, gymnasium with walking track and community space, would be $58 million.

REPORT

Sierra Planning and Management led the feasibility study along with Perkins & Will, CBCL Limited and Hanscomb

Limited. The report cost $148,000, including tax, and came in on budget. About a third of the study’s cost was funded through grants, with the remaining costs shared by the three municipal units.

The report suggested building a roughly 75,000-square foot facility. It would include a 40,000-square foot aquatics facility, an 18,500-square foot double gymnasium with a three-lane walking track, 5,000-square feet of multipurpose rooms and about 12,000 square feet of support and amenity space.

The aquatics facility would include an eight-lane, 25metre pool, a leisure pool and a therapy pool.

The report says a double pad ice surface could be added in the future.

POOL

Frost said the consultants pointed out that such facilities typically have one or two core functions.

“In our case, the main core discussion has revolved around an aquatics facility,” he said.

People in eastern Kings currently use the indoor pool at Acadia University.

“The pool, while well maintained and with a rich history since its opening in 1967, is outdated and functionally is unable to meet the needs and expectations of patrons,” the report said.

“A reasonable assumption is that it may close at some point in the short to medium term (three to five years). While that is not a given, nor a statement of public intent by the university, it is – for our analytical purposes – a likelihood.”

Acadia is aware of the study and has had informal communication with the Town of Wolfville. The university currently has no plans to make changes to the operations of its pool.

LOCATION

The full report was presented to the three councils in private in the fall. It included some potential site locations, but that component is not part of the publicly available report due to potential acquisition negotiations.

“The general recommendation is that ideally a future facility would be located between Coldbrook and Wolfville, with the greater New Minas area being the preferred location,” Frost told the group of councillors.

He noted more work would have to be done to determine if specific sites would be available and what that might cost.

FUNDING

A proposed funding arrangement has not been finalized and Muttart noted there could be funding from the provincial and federal governments to help offset the costs.

“We’ve talked about what it could look like,” Frost said of a funding formula, but “it is a bit early to determine exactly.”

NEXT STEPS

The working group, comprised of representatives from the three municipal units, has some additional information it wants to gather before councils are asked for a final decision. They are calling this Phase 1.5 and it will include collecting public opinion on the report.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Muttart said.

The 167-page report is available on each municipality’s website as well as https:// wolfvilleblooms.ca/regionalrecfacility. Phase 2 would be the construction of the new facility, if approved.

Three municipal units in Kings County commissioned a feasibility study on a regional recreational facility. The report was recently released to the public.

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2023-03-16T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-16T07:00:00.0000000Z

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