The Niverville Town Council together with a volunteer group known as 'Friends of the Plex' unveiled a multi-phase recreational facility master plan that includes a 16 million dollar multiplex and arena.
The announcement was made on Wednesday night at Hespler Park in Niverville. Kerry Church is the Spokesperson for the Friends of the Plex committee. He says they have done extensive research to find out what the community of Niverville wants.
“Friends of the Plex initially set out to consult with the community and determine what the community wanted and needed in the form of new recreational facilities,” notes Church. “We coupled with an independent survey as well to make sure that we truly understood what the community wanted. Once we got that basic information together, we started meeting with focus groups in certain sport areas and started refining what the program of the facilities needed to be.”
Church says they came up with four different options, each with their own pros and cons. He notes the one they are moving forward with is the option that captures everything they set out to do, and it is the most cost effective.
Church says the planned facility will connect to the existing arena and will include a new arena with seating for 600 spectators. He says there are many highlights to the project.
“The multiplex itself is an absolute highlight. The multiplex as the name implies is a multi-use facility. We list a bunch of sports, basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton, but really any sport that can be played on a court can be accommodated within a multiplex. In addition, around all of the court sport areas, there is a three lane running track.”
Church says the facility will also have an indoor playground and common area, as well as a mezzanine with seating for 250 for the muliti-plex.
Niverville Mayor Myron Dyck says the Town of Niverville has committed to donating $5 million to the $16 million project. He says council has recognized the need for recreational facilities for a number of years, but wanted the project to be a joint effort between community volunteers and the town.
Dyck says after the lots of consultation and research the total project cost came to $16 million, and they needed to decide how much to contribute.
“At our last planning session, our council looked at our books, looked at our budget going forward, looked at the needs of the community, assessed the whole needs of the community and said that 5 million dollars would be a number that we could provide to this project without raising taxes.”
Dyck says the donation will be drawn from the existing Recreation Infrastructure Reserve Fund, which the council has been building for a few years, and from borrowed money to top off the difference. He notes this will require council to pass a borrowing motion which the public will have the opportunity to speak to as part of the public consultation process.
Clarence Braun is in charge of raising funds for the Friends of the Plex. He says the fundraising team will include people from throughout the community.
“It will include businesses, residents, government, non-Niverville corporate and corporate Niverville. We are so excited about the fact that we have a generous community. We believe in this, and yes we are excited.”Leaders Shannon Martin, Jerry Church, Myron Dyck, Clarence Braun, and Ted Falk Break Ground On Splash Pad
Braun says there has to be a place for everyone to fit in, and they want to have an opportunity to connect with people and let them know that Niverville is the place for them.
Braun adds they hope to have all of the funds in place in 18 months.
Dyck says the first step of the multi-phase master plan is to build a splash pad. He notes Niverville Town Council alongside Friends of the Plex broke ground on the splash pad project on Wednesday evening.
For more information visit nivervillemultiplex.ca
Thu, Apr 18, 4:30 PM
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