MANITOWANING—Assiginack Township council is going to include public input from user groups into a proposed new Assiginack Arts and Entertainment Centre (AAEC) design concept.
Alton Hobbs, CAO for Assiginack told council at a meeting last week that included architect Chris Perry of Perry and Perry Architects, “that we left this issue up in the air with no final decision having been made (on the proposed AAEC). This issue and decision have been left too long. We have our architect here tonight to give council the opportunity to discuss this issue again. We also have members of the Burns Wharf Theatre Players Group here this evening and in the spring, they were here and had questions that I couldn’t answer. In looking at the original proposal council felt they did not want to add the centre on to the arena. And then we looked at a standalone AAEC.”
“There is a huge opportunity for the community here,” stated Mr. Perry. He explained that when he provided council with background information regarding the original concept/design of the AAEC to meet a quick turnaround time for the funding application, a concept was looking at an addition to an existing building.
“Through discussion with Alton we had very little time to put this together,” he said, noting the time limits did not allow for the opportunity to discuss the issue and a proposed design with potential user groups.
“It was our opinion that space could be shared in the (Manitowaning) arena,” said Mr. Perry. He said there is flexibility and opportunity to rework the current design and that it is possible to go ahead with a stand-alone concept.
“We can look at another stand-alone building site and talk to the user groups on what they would like to see as the next steps,” said Mr. Perry. He pointed out $2.4 million had been estimated as the cost for the AAEC (sharing space with the arena) and that the costs may be higher for a stand-alone centre.
“So how would we approach the next step in this? Meet with the user groups to get their input so we know what they want and need as well?” asked Councillor Rob Maguire. “This is an important step as the new centre needs function for the user groups as well. I think getting their input is an important next step.”
“I agree,” stated Mr. Perry. “We want a design that everyone will be happy with.”
“It is important to take our time and do this right for the benefit of the entire community,” said Councillor Maguire.
“What is the possibility of having a stand-alone building?” asked Councillor Jennifer Hooper.
Mr. Perry said the next phase would be the design phase for a building and looking at what the estimated capital cost estimates would look like, whether for a stand-alone building or added to the arena. “We would reassess all of this and say the design has been redone, and an ‘x’ amount of funding will need to be requested to go ahead with construction. This could include looking at a stand-alone building as well.”
“The whole point at the beginning of this was to secure design funding for the building, and even then, when we had very little time to get this done when I talked to Alton we agreed that we need to talk to user groups to get their input as well,” said Mr. Perry.
Councillor Dwayne Elliott said as council had discussed previously, it is the feeling of council that “we’re going to go ahead and look at a stand-alone building and meet with the user groups to get their input on what they want to see and their needs as well.”
As for getting a costing estimate on the maintenance costs of a possible stand-alone building, Mr. Perry said this is possible. “Normally when we put together these estimates we ask staff what the maintenance costs are in other buildings in the community to get a cost comparison.”
“We need something that we can look at in terms of future costs to maintain the building, so that council can budget for this in the future,” said Mayor Brenda Reid. “And we need to get community input on what the community wants and needs are as well. A meeting will need to be held with all user groups prior to a building design being put together,” noting community input would include anyone who is interested in using the facility.
Mr. Perry said his firm is used to hosting community engagement sessions, and he recommended a user group team be formed to be a unified voice on what everyone wants to see. “It is up to council whatever you feel needs to be done, and how the community should be engaged.”
