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THE OLDEST wEEKLY NEwSPAPER IN THE CANADIAN wEST
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Volume 131 Issue 44 Friday, January 10, 2014 www.minnedosatribune.com 90 cents plus tax
Weacknowledgethe
nancial support of the
Government of Canada
throughthe
CanadaPeriodical Fund
of theDepartment of
CanadianHeritage.
By JENNIFER PAIGE
T
his past fall Minnedosa Town Council engaged the
services of J. Harper and Associates to conduct a fea-
sibility study on the towns proposed MREC facility.
J. Harper and Associates prepared the feasibility re-
port and presented the fndings to Town Council and the
MREC committee prior to Christmas.
Much to the disappointment of the council and oth-
ers who have dedicated time and energy into perusing a
new recreation centre the report indicated a number of
issues with the Towns business plan and proposed de-
sign.
J. Harpers fndings indicate that while it is evident
the Minnedosa needs to update or replace our current
facility, proceeding with a two sheet complex is not fea-
sible. It is disappointing news for sure. We have had a lot
of people working on this, trying to do a good thing for
Minnedosa, but over the past fve years the landscape
around us has changed quite a bit and that has impacted
a number of factors, commented Minnedosa Mayor, Ray
Orr.
Jack Harper, who is an expert in the feld of recre-
ational facility development, prepared the report with the
best judgment in light of the information available at the
time of preparation.
Te objective of the feasibility report is to acquire a
third party review of the concept, building program and
business plan. Te study assesses the long-term feasibil-
ity, viability and sustainability and also provides a recom-
mended path forward in terms of implementing, post-
poning, staging or abandoning the project.
J. Harper and Associates approached the study by
creating fve questions that test the feasibility of the proj-
ect. Completion of the report showed four of fve ques-
tions receiving negative responses, further indicating
that, in its present form the proposed event centre is
not viable, feasible, or sustainable over the long-term.
Te consultants cannot support the project in its current
form, nor do they believe in abandoning the project.
1 - Local and regional market what is the market
and is it supported by the recommended components
and set of spaces?
Based on the current economic climate in the re-
gion, level of demand, supply of facilities and competi-
tion in the marketplacethere is no evidence that the
market for a MREC will support the components and set
of spaces for the proposed facility, stated the feasibility
report.
Continued
on Page 3
Finding a New
Path Forward
MREC Feasibility Study
By JENNIFER PAIGE
A
fter years of assess-
ment and consider-
ation, Rolling River School
Division has completed
the purchase of a new
building for its administra-
tive of ce.
Efective January 1st,
2014, RRSD is the new
owner of the building
located at 36 Armitage
Ave., known to most as
the Minnedosa Provincial
Building.
Te 14,300 square foot
building was previously
owned by a private compa-
ny which held lease agree-
ments with the Provincial
Government. As part of
the purchase agreement,
the school division will be
honoring the current lease
arrangements which are in
efect until December 31st,
2015.
We are excited about
this development and
the positive things it will
mean for the division. Te
building is in a great loca-
tion and it will allow us the
space to do everything we
need. Te previous owner
had lease agreements in
place, so we will not be
moving in until January
1, 2016, but in the mean-
time the building will be a
source of revenue for us,
explained Reg Klassen, su-
perintendent of RRSD.
Te decision to pur-
chase the building has
been a multi-year process
beginning in 2006. Since
that time a number of
studies have been under-
taken to assess the options
that would best address
the issues the division was
facing at its current loca-
tion.
Concerns with the
current administrative
building include an overall
lack of of ce space and in-
adequate space conditions
for some of the staf, spe-
cifcally lacking space for
the Information Technol-
ogy and Student Services
departments, structural
and mechanical issues due
to the age of the building,
need for repair and up-
grades, as well as lack of
space for the transporta-
tion bus storage and parts.
It has taken eight
years to make this deci-
sion and by the time we
get into the building it will
have been ten years since
the school division began
to look at this. It has been a
very careful and somewhat
tedious process to make
sure that we are making
the very best decisions that
we can with our fnances,
continued Klassen.
In 2006, the division
hired LM Architectural
Group to assess and create
a feasibility study on the
current division of ce. Te
study was presented to the
school division board of
directors in 2007, at which
time the Board Division
Of ce Space Review Ad
Hoc Committee was cre-
ated to coordinate the as-
sessment of options and
develop a plan.
Te committee along
with the assistance of
LM Architectural Group,
worked to assess all of the
divisions viable options.
Which included, renovat-
ing the current building
and building new main-
tenance shop; building,
purchasing or leasing
a new space for the ad-
ministration of ce and
moving the maintenance
shop to the current of ce
location; building a new
transportation garage and
maintenance shop and
renovating the current
of ce or building a new
of ce, garage and shop.
We had looked at the
provincial building as an
option a number of years
ago and after all this time
it is still the best option for
us, stated Klassen.
Continued
on Page 2
New Year, New Digs for RRSD
Photo by Jennifer Paige
Rolling River School Division has purchased the Minnedosa Provincial Government building
and plans to move its administration of ces to the location in two years.