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Pictou County to get new $36m rec centre

By JEFFREY SIMPSON Staff Reporter
Sat. Mar 28 - 4:46 AM
Pictou County residents are getting a $36-million recreation facility thanks to substantial help from the federal and provincial governments.

Ottawa will provide $12 million and the province $10 million for the multi-purpose centre, which will be built on the outskirts of New Glasgow and Stellarton near Exit 23 on Highway 104.

The facility is to include two ice surfaces, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a fitness centre and community rooms.

Pat Dunn, the Tory MLA who represents the area, said the complex will be completed by July 2011.

"It’s going to pay great dividends for the health of Pictonians," Mr. Dunn, who is also the provincial minister of health promotion and protection, said in an interview Friday.

"There has been a tremendous need here for a number of years for a facility of this nature."

Mr. Dunn joined Central Nova MP Peter MacKay in New Glasgow on Friday to announce the funding for the project.

Mr. Dunn said the only large recreation facility in the area now is an indoor soccer complex that is also used for football, softball, rugby and golf. People recovering from surgery also use it for walking.

New Glasgow, Pictou, Stellarton, Westville, Trenton and Pictou County will own the new recreation centre and the YMCA will operate it. Those municipalities and some private-sector sponsors will share some of the cost of building it.

Ron Baillie, warden of the Municipality of Pictou County, said the centre will benefit people living in the area physically and economically.

"It will mean a place for our children to have fun, our young people to grow and our adults to stay physically active," he said. "It will also mean jobs, both during and after its construction — jobs that are invaluable to our region during these challenging economic times."

The $10 million in provincial funding will come from the province’s Building Facility Infrastructure Together program.

Charlie Parker, the New Democrat MLA for Pictou West, said he welcomes the project but would prefer if Mr. MacKay arrived with news of more sustainable economic projects, such as filling the void of jobs created when the TrentonWorks railcar plant closed two years ago.

"We’re probably in the pre-election period here, both federally and provincially," Mr. Parker said.

"What we’re really hoping for are long-lasting jobs here. TrentonWorks comes to mind as one we’d like to see a solution to here, and we certainly welcome an announcement like that for steady employment here for a lot of years to come."

Mr. MacKay’s riding has benefited from several funding announcements this month. The federal defence minister was in Pictou County early in the month to announce funding for transforming a former open pit coal mine into a $2.5-million track and field complex that is to include an eight-lane rubberized track. The federal and provincial governments will contribute $863,000 each to that project.

Mr. MacKay was also in the area last week to announce $40,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency for an engineering study of a $1.3-million facelift to incorporate walking trails through Trenton’s industrial centre, largely abandoned when TrentonWorks closed.

He also came with news of $19,000 in ACOA funding to hire consultants to come up with a development plan for River John’s riverfront.

Also last week, he announced $1 million in federal money for an all-weather playing field and rubberized track to be built at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish by Aug. 1.