The Timmins Chamber of Commerce is still looking for a more detailed plan from the city about the proposed aquatic centre.
In the April 10 Timmins council agenda, a letter from president Jamie Clarke reveals the results of a second survey asking members about their support for the project. The package also includes letters from other groups expressing support for the proposed $48-million facility.
“In short, the inclusion of additional information about the project following the completion of the Phase 1 design has sparked some interest from the membership, but not enough to soften their persistent concerns about its financial impact and costs,” reads Clarke’s letter.
In February council approved the schematic design for the centre, which includes a pool area with an eight-lane competition pool, leisure/therapy hot pool, and a family-friendly play zone. There is also a dryland section with multi-use and squash courts, and an indoor walking track.
That approval allowed staff to move ahead with the work on the second of the three-phase process, which is the detailed design and development that includes a more accurate costing for the project and its ongoing costs.
Clarke’s letter includes the results of the chamber's second survey gauging support from its membership for the facility. The results of the first were reported to council earlier this year.
The organization had 120 respondents for the second survey, including 87 who are “key decision-makers”.
The first question asked if they support the city covering 50 per cent of the project’s cost if the other half is secured from upper levels of government and fundraising.
The chamber said 56 per cent “said they would not support such a move as a result of the high cost, the uncertain economy, and the lack of public consultation in the initial selection of the project. This marks a 1.6 per cent increase in the level of support expressed from respondents in the previous survey, a negligible change.
There is a six per cent increase in support for respondents willing to make a financial contribution to the proposed facility, with 26 per cent now indicating “they would be willing or able to contribute”.
He is also asking for clarification on the level of financial support that must be received for the project to move ahead.
“While Mayor Black indicated on Jan. 29 that his preferred split between the city and upper-level governments is 50 per cent, there was no commitment from council as a whole about their own views, nor was there a timeline for a more fulsome discussion on the matter. Again, we would ask you to outline the details of the next phase of the plan so that there is a clear and detailed understanding by the public as to the precise process and estimated timeline by which the City will explore its potential approval of the project,” he wrote.
The other letters to council are from the Timmins Construction Association, Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus, Nickel Belt MP Marc Serre, Dr. Paul Armstrong and Dr. Lesley Griffiths on behalf of the Department of Family Medicine at Timmins and District Hospital, and the Porcupine Health Unit.
You can read all of the submissions here.
