The District of Squamish officials will seek council permission to move ahead with a grant application for a wellness and arts centre at the Brennan Park Recreation Centre.
The grant from Investing in Canada Infrastructure program would enable district to offset as much as 73 per cent of the project cost.
The council will hear from staff and deliberate on the application in today, December 4th council meeting.
The proposed wellness centre would be a 38,000 square feet space that will include a fitness centre with a focus on rehabilitation, Neuro Programs, accessibility, and overall wellness including information on fitness, nutrition, and meditation.
A gym, an indoor running and walking track and space for aerobics and other programs for seniors, youth, disabled people are also planned.
The facility will be geared towards those from low and moderate income groups who prefer a community-hub style of recreation, according to a staff report.
In addition, Squamish athletes will have space for training for sports such as minor hockey, soccer, cycling etc.
The arts area will likely comprise one of the three floors with approximately 10,500 square feet of space.
The programs will be determined with support from the arts community and would include visual art space, dance, pottery, and music rooms.
A second ice sheet and an eight-metre pool are other considerations, but a wellness and arts centre offer a more financially prudent model and has a greatest urgency for customer waitlists, staff believes.
“A fitness area is the number one requested facility improvement over multiple years,” the report says.
Jim says
There at least six fitness centres and numerous fitness training facilities already in Squamish, why do we need more at the cost of additional Ice and aquatic space. The Ice and Aquatic facility is ageing and the tax payers are already paying for our neglected infrastructure. In my opinion we do not need to burden the tax payers with facilities that are already readily available. The is a great outdoors that we live in for recreation, and the arts community can do what the rest of us do when we want space for our activities. Pay for it.
Dave Colwell says
I agree with Jim. We need an upgrade of the existing facilities…same size but renovated to the start-up standard. An extra pool is not needed but the existing one should/must not be lost nor should the ice space we have now. I wish this town would not thrash around and better communicate together with efficient coordination. And yes, the Arts community should pay for their own facilities, the same as the Curling Club, Golf Club etc.
Kristina says
Need an all around better fitness centre. The other opinion in town suck. The proposed plan sounds great!!!
Kathy says
I strongly feel we need another sheet of ice & more pool space so I agree w Jim.
Ever tried getting your kids into swimming lessons or schedule an extra hockey practise? Almost impossible!!
KJ says
I agree that a second Ice rink and addition to the pool are desperately needed in this rapidly growing community. Speaking as a regular user of the Rec Centre with 2 kids in hockey, swim lessons, and other programs, I also am completely in agreement with having an actual fitness center in the Rec center and feel this is a big gap. We have a million gyms here but all of them require a membership or some astronomical drop in rate. Or you have to go somewhere with limited parking in the middle of an industrial area. If you go to any other community’s Rec Centre you can pay a $5-6 drop in fee and work out when you want. Put physiotherapists in the building too and now you can generate revenue from a completely untapped resource. Parents can work out while kids are in programs, as a mom I can book a rehab appointment during kids hockey practice or pay my 5 bucks and do a quick workout. During the day while the kids are in school you’d still be catering to seniors and toddlers. Offer a childcare drop in beside the gym from 9-noon and you’d have all kinds of moms and dads dropping in for a workout. A Rec Centre should be a “hub” for families, the elderly, youth, and every income level to come together. Get enough traffic coming through and it might actually be worth running a concession there or have a little cafe space to generate yet more income. Things in this town are so segregated. Seniors Centre in one area, youth Centre somewhere else, gyms spread out all over the place. Offer a youth toonie time for working out afterschool. Have youth drop in gym times for basketball or floor hockey. I think it would generate more revenue and make programming more efficient to bring some of these amenities together under one roof like other communities have. Generate the income to make another rink and better pool more affordable. I think people are missing the point that having some of these options in our Rec Centre could actually generate income to improve what’s there. All these clubs and programs paying for space elsewhere when it could be generating income to offset the tax payer costs of maintaining the facility.
Dave Colwell says
Agreed: Great wishes guys and girls but now please get on Council’s case for giving ridiculous Tax breaks to various profit organizations …like the developers of Condos on the Ocean front etc. And don’t complain tooo much if your own taxes go up a tad. The more rec. facilities the better, if we can truly afford it, and yes, pay for them indirectly through our taxes.
Jane Keyes says
Gym! Somewhere you can go on a drop-in basis for a bearable cost.
Jonny says
We need it all. Look at Meadow Park, you can do it all in one space with a cheap daily drop in rate. Workout then a swim isn’t available at any private facility in town
We need a better recreation pool, a gym, more indoor rec space for the long wet winter months.