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Posted Nov 26, 2007, 2:03 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Grand Bay-Westfield :: NB
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Kay centre not just a rink
New community centre expected to open within a month
By James Foster
Times & Transcript Staff
Published Monday November 26th, 2007
Appeared on page A1
The very second you walk into the new Kay Community Centre, which within a month will replace the former Kay Arena, you know you are about to experience something different than just another rink.
The lobby is completely bathed in natural light, thanks to the ceiling to floor glass -- a metaphor for the bright future of the building which includes an NHL-sized ice surface, multi-use rooms, tons of storage space and modern change rooms.
"The key to the success was the formation of a grassroots organization," says Bill Hennessey, chairman of the fundraising campaign that ensured the beloved old rink would live another day as so much more than just an ice surface surrounded by four walls.
"We are a full financial partner," Hennessey said Saturday during a sneak preview of the facility, "it's fair to say we put our money where our mouth is."
The building opens in late December, but fund-raising continues with the campaign at about the half-way point towards its $1 million goal for the almost $7-million project.
The mess in the building tells the tale; the community centre remains a construction site.
But within a month, the new ice surface will be poured, the building will be cleaned and painted, the seats will be installed, rubber skate flooring will be put down, the very large canteen will be stocked, shiny new benches and showers will be put into the six new, spacious dressing rooms (including rooms for referees and public skaters,) the public washrooms will be polished and a whole list of systems will be tested and retested, says Les Brown, overseeing the work being done by Foulem Construction.
"It's going to be a beautiful building," Brown said.
It will also be wheelchair accessible and feature wireless Internet access.
Chris Butler of the Kay Community Centre Foundation says a grand opening date will be announced later. The foundation used the preview to hand Mayor Lorne Mitton the first of three $150,000 cheques, the community's share in paying for the new building.
"Fund-raising is still ongoing," Butler said.
"We still have a way to go."
Major sponsors such as Cavendish Farms, Coastal Inns, Atlantic Mazda, Home Hardware, Scotiabank, the HumLewSun Lions Club and Hennessey Consultants sent representatives to see for themselves how their investment in their community and its people is paying off, and they came away impressed.
Construction is continuing at a torrid pace.
The rink floor should be poured on Wednesday, the floors will be put down throughout the facility and the ceilings installed in the two sunny multi-function rooms upstairs sometime this week, the elevator installers start work today, painting is ongoing, the rink boards will go in next week and there remains a steel stairway to be filled with concrete.
The 470-seat structure will feature natural gas in-floor heating, improved ice-making and insulation technology that will mean better ice quality, and a "huge" dehumidifier will reduce the chance of fog and humidity problems indoors. There's even a kitchen.
It's being built with an eye to the future as well, with the possibility of adding a fitness centre, walking track and gymnasium.
Besides the public contribution, the city chipped in about $4 million and the province another $2 million. Ottawa contributed about $1 million.
Citizens of the Lewisville area were spurred to action about five years ago when the city demolished its aging community arenas in favour of a four-surface arena under one roof in the west end.
They lobbied hard to save the Kay Arena, an effort that turned into the creation of what will soon be, within mere weeks, a community centre with many purposes other than hockey and skating.
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Take part in public budget process
Brent Mazerolle
City Hall Report
Published Monday November 26th, 2007
Appeared on page A10
There are certain traditions you can just count on at this time of year. People are putting up Christmas lights, making holiday travel arrangements, writing letters to Santa and maybe even hammering out an early draft of some New Year's resolutions.
No doubt another annual tradition is in the works, just waiting to be unveiled at Moncton City Hall.
It's Brian Hicks' annual graph, the one in which the Ward 3 councillor illustrates how the City of Moncton's spending and debt compare with the city's revenues. In my experience, it's never presented a pretty picture. Also in my experience, while other councillors have made compelling arguments about why the city's spending is necessary, no one has ever convincingly disputed Hicks' math.
Here are some projections based on last year's statistics: per capita debt has risen from $704 per Monctonian to $1,482 since the current council came to power in 2004. Hicks projects that number will reach $1,740 per person by 2010. While revenue in the 10-year period from 2000 to 2010 is forecasted to climb 64 per cent, the city's debt will increase 149 per cent.
All this is to remind members of the general public that next Monday's regularly scheduled meeting of Moncton city council will include a presentation by the city's treasurer John Martin in which he gives the council and public an overview of the draft budget, both operational and capital. Council will then publicly debate the 2008 budget on Dec. 12 and 13. Those sessions will run during the daytime, which can make it difficult for the public to attend. However, if you were one of the thousands, many from Moncton, who signed Jim Steeves' petition against escalating property taxes, this is your chance to really see how your tax dollars, which account for 80 per cent of the city's revenue, are spent.
For the past three years, I've been the only member of the public to observe the entire process of public debate, and yes, I admit I've been paid to be there. However, the levels of concern I've heard this year, expressed by people all over the city whether they knew they were speaking to a reporter or not, has me convinced I won't be alone this year.
At least I hope that's the case. One thing not clear this year is whether Moncton will lower the tax rate, maintain it or raise it. What is known is that only significantly lowering the rate will make your tax bill smaller, and there have been know signals that's about to happen. Because the bulk of Moncton property owners will see their assessments rise this year, even maintaining the current tax rate will mean more dollars out of your pocket.
A funny thing will happen to you when you see the budget debated. You will see that practically none of the decisions are simple. You'll also be forced to decide what you want from your life in this community, a stick-to-the-knitting emphasis on potholes, garbage collection and protective services that might save your pocketbook, or a progressive political vision that involves a revitalized downtown, perhaps a $50-million new coliseum, concerts and festivals and environmental measures and support for sports and recreation and the arts that all cost you big bucks but just might include the reasons you choose to live here.
Quite likely you will decide you want something somewhere in the middle. Quite likely your representatives on council will ultimately decide something similar too, but I'm pretty sure they could use your input in the coming weeks. Several have publicly been asking for it, in fact.
So here are the dates and times again: Dec. 3, 6 p.m. for an overview presentation of the City of Moncton's total budget.
Dec. 12 and 13, starting each day at 9 a.m. for council's public debate on the budget.
n Brent Mazerolle's City Hall Report appears every Monday, looking at the people and issues behind the scenes at Moncton city hall.
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