NIPAWIN — A building for the gymnastics club and a group home will take up two of the three lots of a new subdivision approved by Nipawin council.
The subdivision is located on 10th Avenue West. It was approved at the June 25 meeting.
Council agreed to sell one lot to the Nipawin Centre for Gymnastics and Athletic Development for $10,000, half of the appraised value for the lot. That was the price they had asked council for.
“Along with that, council will approve a 100 per cent tax exemption on improvements for a three-year period,” said Barry Elliott, the town’s administrator.
The usual tax exemption period is four years – something the Centre for Gymnastics and Athletic Development had asked for – but council decided to lower the initial cost of the lot instead. If the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency estimates of the finished building being worth $794,000 are correct, annual taxes would be $16,000.
The new facility will provide a permanent home for the gymnastics club and provide enough space for meets and competitions.
Beside the gymnastics club will be a Class 1 group home built by the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation.
“[Council] agreed to sell it to them for $10,000 and further to that, they agreed that council would authorize an allocation of $9,999 to the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation as the town’s contribution to the project,” Elliott said.
In other words, the lot will cost the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation $1.
The group home will house residents of Moose Jaw’s Valley View Centre. The province has decided to close that facility, which was built to house people with intellectual disabilities, in 2019 and move the residents to facilities closer to their original homes.
Saskatchewan Housing Corporation will pay for 100 per cent of the costs of construction. The facility will be run by a third party.
Elliott said council’s decision shows they support the project.
“They recognize the benefits of having another group home here in town and I think they’re optimistic that the right organization will come to manage that project.”
