All about the new West End community centre

Franco Pastori, lead architect at EPOH, says that construction on a new West End Community Centre could begin this summer and be essentially complete by March 31, 2011.

"This is a project that would be very aggressive," Pastori says. "The Gantt chart [project management] is quite detailed and we are confident substantial completion will be March 31."

The proposed indoor all-purpose sports facility would feature two fields, a hockey arena and a library, all located in a new municipal structure on the current site of McMeeken Arena.

"We are currently in the process of acquiring four acres next door to the McMeeken Centre," says Joe Fratesi, the City's chief administrative officer. "You would not want to pass up this opportunity to consolidate facilities."

The new facility would replace both the McMeeken Centre and the Korah West branch of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library, both of which are in major need of repair and upgrading, he said.

The library is located in the former Township of Korah municipal building and has long passed its expected lifespan, Fratesi said.

Repairing both buildings would cost more than they're worth.

The new community centre would include two new indoor soccer pitches, with an option to expand and incorporate a second ice pad and a third indoor multi-use field, said Fratesi.

City Council agreed this week to include the $22 million project on its wish list for stimulus funding.

In order to qualify for Infrastructure Stimulus Fund cash, the project would have to begin this summer and be essentially complete by March 31, 2011.

The Sault Amateur Soccer Association has been working for some time with the City to get an indoor multi-use facility.

Pastori recently came before City Council on behalf of the groups trying to build the facility, then recommending a two-field pre-engineered standalone structure at Strathclair Farms.

At this week's council meeting, he said that was his recommendation before the stimulus funding opportunity came to light.

Mayor John Rowswell wants the proposal to include three indoor fields instead of two.

A few other councillors suggested it go ahead with two ice pads instead of one.

"Adding that much more to the facility may put you at some risk of being able to make substantial completion by the deadline," said Pastori. "My estimate is that, yes, it would require more time."

Ward 3 Councillor Bryan Hayes asked Nick Apostle, the City's commissioner of community servicess, when the last demand for ice time study was done.

Apostle said it was in 1996, and the consultants felt the Sault had enough arenas, we just needed to repair and upgrade the McMeeken Centre.

At this week's City Council meeting, another project that would see completion of two more sections of the non-motorized Hub Trail was also approved for submission for stimulus dollars.

"Council is on record as wishing to have that project completed as quickly as possible, subject to availability of funding," said Fratesi. "We are proposing that the waterfront walkway system be extended as planned and that the non-motorized trails in the Fort Creek area be built."

Planning Director Don McConnell said the plan is to link the waterfront walkway section of the trail to the next section of it, by closing the southernmost lane on Bay Street to motorized traffic and reserving it for non-motorized traffic.

McConnell also said that construction on the Finn Hill portion of the trail is progressing well, although the City is considering installation of boulders at both ends of that section to keep motorized traffic off the trail.

Also being submitted by the City for infrastructure funding is the new building for Algoma Public Health.

The building will be located on the Sault College main campus property and will consolidate several Algoma Public Health programs and services which are now in at least five different locations, said Fratesi.

The building will be built to silver Ontario Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, said Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland.

Butland asked Jeff Holmes of the health unit whether the possibility of raising that to a gold standard for not much more cost could be investigated.