There has been plenty of discussion coming from both sides in the village of Elbow surrounding the community's proposed Line 19 Multiplex, a multipurpose facility being designed to house any number of public events and essentially replace old infrastructure in Elbow such as the rink, the library, and the Civic Centre.
Back at a public meeting in June, views were heard from both sides of the fence regarding the project, with some speaking out on the need for a community such as Elbow to have such a facility, and others asking for the taxpaying public to show where they stood. Now, it appears as though the lakeside community is going to take things to a vote.
That public vote will take place on Wednesday, September 8 at the Elbow Civic Centre, with voting hours between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm. An advance poll will also be held on Saturday, August 28 between the hours of 5:00 and 8:00 pm. The Village of Elbow will declare the result of the vote on Thursday, September 9.
Officially, the question being asked of affected ratepayers when they go to cast their vote is, "Do you support the proposed construction of the Line 19 Multi Purpose Facility?"
Some recent history sheds light on how things led to this community-wide decision being made:
The Village of Elbow formed its Long-Term Planning Committee in 2018. It was determined at the time that one of the community's most predominant needs was for a new multipurpose facility that would serve the area, and Elbow's village council decided not to make further investments in the area's existing infrastructure, noting the "substantial capital investments" said to be required in order to make repairs, upgrades, and meet existing building and fire codes.
In February of 2020, a public meeting was held at the Civic Centre in order to gauge the interest of residents in a possible new facility and gather ideas and input. The following month, Council unanimously passed a motion to apply for funding for a new facility from both the provincial and federal governments via the ICIP grant (Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program).
In the fall of 2020, a group of volunteers named the Line 19 Multiplex Committee was formed to assist Council in the planning, fundraising, and eventual construction of the facility. With the approval of Elbow's village council, the committee formed an RFP (Request for Proposals) subcommittee. After developing the RFP for the building's design and construction, it was published with a closing date for proposals of July 16, 2021.
In April of this year, a group of ratepayers approached Council asking for further information on the project and requesting a ratepayer vote on the facility's construction. At which point, Council agreed that more updated information needed to go out to local ratepayers, so paper copies containing information on the project were delivered to Elbow homes, and the document was available online on the village's website and Facebook page.
On Wednesday, June 23, Council confirmed that both the provincial and federal governments had approved the ICIP grant funding in the amount of $4,766,450.00.
Now, with the news that both the province and Ottawa have agreed to make this extremely substantial donation, it comes down to Elbow residents to make their voices heard and exercise their right to vote in order to make the final decision on this project.
It's estimated that the cost of construction for the 17,000-sq ft. facility is $6,500,000, which would include taxes and contingencies. With the recent announcement of $4,766,450, this equates to making up just over 73% of the funding. Out of the remaining $1.7 million that is the responsibility of the Village of Elbow, they have $380,000 from the Arenaplex fund as well as a commitment of $100,000 from the RM of Loreburn.
These funding avenues for the project mean that Elbow could have a brand-new, $6.5 million facility for essentially $0.20 on the dollar.
Multiple bids have come in for the facility and are being evaluated, with the bidders all coming in under the project's top-end budget number of $5,519,000 before taxes, leaving the committee with a "healthy contingency".
Depending on the outcome of the community vote on September 8, the forecasted construction date is slated for this fall, with an intended completion date of March 31, 2023.
