Humboldt seeks input on future recreation facility

The meetings will allow user groups, users of the programs and facilities, and the entire public to weigh in on their thoughts. Ulriksen said it’s like the first of many meetings as the details on the eventual structure are narrowed down.

“We don’t want to go and bring in a design company or a consultant to do some of this work; we feel that we can do this internally,” Ulriksen explained. “Once we have some of these pieces in place, then we can reach out to a design company to put all these thoughts onto paper, and then we can start reviewing those and get some costing and start the fundraising process.”

Ulriksen called the facility a once-in-a-lifetime infrastructure project for the community of Humboldt. The last major recreation infrastructure project on that scale was the Uniplex in the early 1980s and the subsequent adding of the aquatic centre in 1995.

“This is a huge opportunity for the community to think about what our residents need now, and what our residents are going to need for the next 30 to 40 years,” said Ulriksen. “To get it right is imperative; we’re only going to get one shot at this, we’re only going to get one opportunity to do it the right way.”

That need to have the project be a community-driven initiative is what makes these types of meetings so crucial to the future of the facility. Ulriksen said they’ve had tremendous buy-in from residents and stakeholders thus far, and he expects that to continue.

Ulriksen said because they’re trying to get the project flowing from a community-led perspective, they don’t want to put any hard deadlines on development or construction of the facility.

“I think those two meetings [next week] will give us a really good sense as to how close we are to some of those next steps when it comes to actual design, and trying to figure out some implementation,” Ulriksen said.

There are other significant questions that need to be answered, including the eventual location of the building; whether it should be attached to the Uniplex property or elsewhere in the city. Ulriksen said they also need to work through whether it would include one build or multiple builds. The project could also be affected by whether other major stakeholders in the community and region are involved in planning.

“Those will all factor into how quickly we move ahead with the project.”

Ulriksen credited the work of the committee for getting the project off the ground. He said for a long time, many thought the project would never happen because it wasn’t gaining traction, but the committee’s determination over the past year has put that fear to rest.

There is a lot of flexibility in how the project will come about, and while there’s no rushing when you want a project done properly, Ulriksen recognized that the longer it takes to become a reality, the larger the gaps user groups face will grow.

“We want to make sure we don’t take too long, but we want to make sure that we do it right.”

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

by Cam Lee

Humboldt seeks input on future recreation facility

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