Town looks at planning for recreation/wellness centre

The Town of Nipawin is taking some steps forward in regards to a multi-use facility.

James J. Youck, B.A., B. Arch., MSAA, MRAIC, AIA, the principal architect for P3A was in Nipawin on Jan. 18 and 19 to take a look at some of the needs and wants of the community in regards to building a multi-purpose facility.

During his two days in Nipawin, he was kept busy meeting with a variety of stakeholders, who may, or may not end up located in the new recreational/health and wellness centre.

To develop a master plan for the project, three steps must be taken, the first is the preparation of the visioning process/document and key perimeters.

"The vision is with the steering committee – what should this facility be, what are it's goals?" he said.

The first step was completed in the fall, and they now are working on the second step, which is the master programming.

"Essentially, we're trying to accumulate the data on what our specific space needs are and how big it would have to be," he said.

From the master programming they end up with a functional description, or design criteria, of what it should be located to.

"We end up with a diagram, which outlines the process in graphic form," said Youck.

Once the report is finished it will get sent out in draft form to the people that have participated, for them to share with the people they represent to ensure that no mistakes were made.

"It's a chance for them to review that I interpreted what they wanted correctly. From there we can make any revisions and then the steering committee will approve the master program.

The third step is the master program, which will allow them to determine the size of the components and where they will go.

"We'll look at the site, which is determined as Central Park and sit down with the committee and have an interactive session and take blocks of space and move them around to determine where things will be located," he said.

Youck has begun to lie out the road map for the Town of Nipawin, so that when the money is in place, they will know which pieces need to be done and when.

This plan will be spread out over a number of years, due to cost factors.

"Few communities have the ability to build major complexes like this one in one sweep in today's day and age. Construction costs are higher now, so these things are normally phased. We're helping define what the vision of the community is for this facility and then laying out that road map that allows them to get to the end goal and show what those intern steps are," said Youck.

The Town of Nipawin circulated a survey to ask the community what they would like to see out of a recreation/health and wellness centre and the No. 1 item was an indoor pool, with the second being a walking/running track and the third a multipurpose fitness centre (gymnasium, exercise equipment, etc.)

The questionnaire also revealed that most people were in favour of having this building go up at Central Park.

"I think the groups that currently use Central Park, love Central Park – no one has said that they don't want to be there. I think, generally speaking, Central Park is the right place for a facility of this nature," said Youck.

No timeframe has been determined for the project, but Director of Parks and Recreation, Dan Poulin, said this is a plan over a number of years.

"The phasing a priority of the facility would be up to the community to decide. It'll likely take some time to build a facility, but it's a plan and I think that's the one thing we're really trying to accomplish here is a plan for the future so that future council's and the community know what is ahead and what to work for," said Poulin.

The town is keeping the public very involved in the process, and once they come up with a plan they will be going back to the public in the form of an open house to let the public have input in the priorities o the facility or give them any feedback.

The process for the master plan began in the middle of November with the visioning, and Youck hopes to have the master program done in the next four to five weeks. From there he will continue onto the master plan. In total, it's about an eight month to a year process.

"My hope is that this will be done by the late spring so we're getting out there before people go on holidays. This way it'll be all wrapped up and the ground work will be there for the town to move in whatever direction they'd like," said Youck.

During his time meeting with different organizations he said that the general feel was that of interest and excitement about the opportunity.

'There is a real desire for Nipawin to have facilities that are comparable, or nicer than those in Tisdale and Melfort. People recognize that when you are competing for families, you're competing to get people to live here, move here and stay here. Having those recreational opportunities for families is very important," said Youck.

Poulin said they are doing their best to keep the public informed as to what is going on, and the progress they've made on the major project.

"We like to keep people informed. I think people have heard about it, but they may not be sure what it's all about," said Poulin.

"It's exhausting – tons of notes in a day. It's intensive and a lot of information is collected. It's a lot of work," said Youck, regarding coming to the final master plan.

If any organization or group that would be affected by the project was missed during their consultations last week can contact Poulin at the town office at 862-9866 to set up an appointment.

"People are interested in the process and are really appreciating the ability to be able to express their opinions," said Poulin.