Future of Queens Place in question

The future of Queens Place is in a precarious position at the moment, and all eyes are on the provincial government.

The federal government has committed $7 million to the project, $5million from the province and $2million so far from the Region of Queens.

However both the previous Conservative government and the current NDP government have stated they feel the $5million funding was adequate for a project of this size.

The prices come from two architectural firms plus a cost consultant, and not a number picked out of the air, says David Clattenburg, Chief Administrative Officer for the Region of Queens. “I’m optimistic from talking to the deputy minister we in fact can convince them it is a $21million project. If not, we’ll convince them to fund one third of the actual cost.”

By convincing the provincial government to commit one-third rather than a flat amount, it would allow the government to be more flexible with their funding.

Although it wasn’t brought up in the meeting, other similar recreation centres have all been funded one-third by all three levels of government. The most recently announced was in Bridgewater, where the federal government committed one third of their $30million centre. The provincial government has also committed one third of the cost for that project.

MP Gerald Keddy, in a separate interview, addressed rumours that the project was being held up by the federal government. He says the federal monies are committed.

However, the way the funding program works, the federal government cannot be the largest contributor or contribute more than one third of the project. “Our contribution is firm, but it has to be matched,” says Keddy.

If the Region fails to get a commitment from the provincial government for one third, then the federal contribution is clawed back to match the province.

Keddy believes this project is a cornerstone for the community though, and wants to see it go through. “It’s not just for Health Promotion, but also for continued growth. It’s a great opportunity, so we really need the province to come on board,” he says.

Despite all the negativity however, the Queens Place committee remains optimistic they can get Queens Place built “It sounds like all doom and gloom, but we are proceeding with the design development phase. The project is moving forward, and there is a great degree of optimism. It’s just an uphill battle at this point,” said Clattenburg.

Counc. Darlene Norman suggested getting the public to call local MLA, since she is now with the ruling party, and make it known how much Queens Co. wants Queens Place.

Counc. Doug Adams however, was more succinct. “We’re going to build this place.”

Clattenburg and the architects met with staff at the Dept. of Health Promotion and Protection on Oct. 7, to outline where the figure of $21 million came from. The architects also prepared additional documentation to send to the department.

nmoase@theadvance.ca