Provincial funding for YMCA expansion

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This article was published 04/05/2022 (1604 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon’s YMCA will see a $300,000 contribution toward its ongoing expansion, just one of a slew of projects in the region to get provincial dollars this week.

The cash injections come from the province’s Building Sustainable Communities program, which is spending $25.2 million to support 427 projects across Manitoba, Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke said Wednesday morning at the local YMCA.

“Our government recognizes the importance of municipalities and community-based organizations in building, thriving and sustainable communities all across the province. We are so proud to support these community projects and collective efforts … to provide a high quality of life for all Manitobans,” she said.

Local MLAs and city councillors were also on hand at the announcement.

The money for Brandon’s YMCA will go toward additional family space, including programming space and an outdoor playground. The expansion on the south side of the building also includes pre-school and fitness areas.

The $7.2-million renovation is slated to be completed in the fall of 2023, said Brandon YMCA CEO Lon Cullen. Currently, excavators have dug down and construction machinery is on location where the YMCA has been since 1907.

“We are very much a part of the community, and the government has been very much a part of us as well,” he said.

“The expansion will allow us to serve more children, more families, more seniors and all the other participants in our region,” he said. The local YMCA will be able to accommodate 25 per cent more people, including children in day camps.

The renovation will also allow the YMCA to expand its administrative space and an outdoor play area on the ground floor.

A total of 46 projects in Westman are slated to receive funding through the Building Sustainable Communities Fund for a total of $2.2 million.

In Brandon, the province is spending $37,500 to complete a feasibility study for a new outdoor aquatic centre, $75,000 to build multiple outdoor sports courts and $53,579 for restorations to the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, among others, according to a provincial press release.

Mayor Rick Chrest said he was glad to see the support for Brandon projects and the program stretches local dollars. Organizations can receive up to 50 per cent of eligible costs through the Building Sustainable Communities Fund and 10 per cent of the costs must come from non-government sources.

“It’s great community-building quite often in these projects, and then it leaves behind a legacy of typically facilities and amenities that are utilized and improve the community for years and years to come,” Chrest said.

The funding for Brandon also includes $75,000 to complete a development plan and climate action plan and $67,500 for a feasibility study for community centres.

There are other projects receiving funding around the region, including in Baldur, Boissevain, Melisa, Souris and Virden.

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