Residents make final pitch for centre

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This article was published 07/03/2023 (973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Residents took one last shot at convincing Brandon City Council that their downtown neighbourhood needs a community centre.

Council’s decision on whether to award a contract for the demolition of the deteriorating Park Community Centre and construction of a replacement would effectively determine whether there would be a community centre at the site at all. At press time, council was still deliberating.

“It is something that I implore you please consider to revitalize downtown Brandon and rebuild the Park Community Centre,” resident Wanda-Leigh Rains said. “Downtown is the heart of Brandon.”

Rains was one of 10 people who spoke on the issue during Monday evening’s regular council meeting, and more than 40 audience members nearly filled the available seating in the gallery in council chambers. Based on the applause that met presentations by those who spoke in support of a centre, almost all were in favour of a having a building.

The issue was back on the table Monday evening after council deferred making a decision on the issue at its Feb. 6 meeting.

Council was to vote on a recommendation by administration that it not award a contract for the demolition of the existing building and construction of a new centre because there isn’t enough money in the parks reserve.

A Feb. 2 report to city council from the parks and recreation department states that council requested administration to proceed with a “design-build procurement process” for consideration of demolition and reconstruction of Park Community Centre.

Working with council and the Park Community Centre board, the request for proposal was to include demolition and construction of a new building for similar use and occupancy.

The new building was also to accommodate a future commercial kitchen, a stage and storage, the report states.

The 2023 budget set aside $1.2 million split between the parks and gas tax reserves but, after receiving three responses to the RFP, it was determined that $1.5 million would be needed.

Additional funds are available in the parks reserve, the project stated, but they’re committed to future projects and diverting the $300,000 needed to make up the difference for the Park centre project would delay several green space initiatives and push the reserve into the red in 2025.

In addition, the building of a new centre doesn’t align with the city’s recreation master plan, the report noted. That plan, commissioned in 2019, recommends consolidating existing community centres. Regarding the Park centre specifically, the master plan suggested it should be closed and demolished in favour of expanded green space and community gardens at a cost of $500,000.

City manager Ron Bowles had said a decision to not award the project would mean the centre would not be demolished or replaced at this time, and administration would return to council at a later date with suggestions on what to do next.

However, Bowles also said that because those who had responded to the RFP had already invested money and time and it wouldn’t be fair for council to ask for further RFPs later, council needed to decide now whether a building should be at the site.

At a Feb. 28 meeting at Park Community Centre, supporters of replacing the building with a new one told Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2), whose ward contains the centre, and members of administration that a building was key to efforts to revitalize downtown. A centre is important to the neighbourhood’s social life as it provided space for birthday parties, weddings, festivals and other events.

“We can all agree that the core of Brandon is the heart of Brandon,” said Rains, who lives across the street from the centre on the 1400 block of Louise Avenue. “The core, the downtown area, are the most vulnerable people. We have to have something here, there’s no question.”

Park centre advocate Eldon Schmitz — who previously told the Sun a vote by council not to award the contract would amount to one to demolish the building and create green space, as in the recreation master plan — said there was $400,000 in the community centre account. With the Eighth Street bridge project seemingly on hold, he and others pointed to that reserve as another possible way to address the shortfall in funds for a new centre.

Desjarlais, who spoke in favour of a new building, urged supporters of a new building to show up at city hall for Monday’s vote.

As of press time on Monday, council had not made a decision on the Park centre motion. See brandonsun.com and Wednesday’s print edition for a fuller story.

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