Members of Bowden council have completed an internal survey outlining what they want to see and don't want to see in a proposed community centre concept for the town.
Members of Bowden council have completed an internal survey outlining what they want to see and don't want to see in a proposed community centre concept for the town.
And next month, they will give consideration to a survey that will probe public opinion on the community centre idea.
Council received an update on July 14 on the efforts of Edmonton-based RC Strategies, a consulting company specializing in community development, to prepare a business plan for the proposed community centre.
Mike Roma, a partner with the consulting firm, gave council a revised overview of some of the elements the proposed community centre could include if it were built as well as possible costs associated with the facility.
Currently, a draft vision for the facility includes a banquet hall capable of holding 300 people as well as a stage, kitchen, meeting room and 75 parking stalls.
Possible sites for the proposed facility include Bowden's Centennial Park, the Bowden Heritage Rest Area campground and the current site of the Bowden Lions Hall on 19 Avenue.
Coun. Sheila Church also mentioned there was even interest in building the facility on the Bowden Agricultural Society grounds.
The current estimated cost for the community centre concept is more than $3.6 million, up from the figure of $2.7 million floated three years ago when a community needs assessment on the concept was conducted.
Coun. Paul Webb asked Roma why the projected cost of the project has gone up.
"That's what happens when you wait three years," Roma responded, adding that if the town waits another four to five years to make a decision on whether to build the facility, the cost could increase by another 25 per cent.
Operating costs for the facility are currently projected at $142,500 while it is expected a community centre in the town would bring in $28,700 a year in revenue.
Council agreed the town will have to ask Bowden residents if they would be willing to support such costs and the possible tax increases that could come with those costs.
But Coun. Earl Wilson said before council goes to the community about any potential tax increases, it needs to know the final bottom line for the community centre project.
Ultimately, council directed RC Strategies to prepare a survey that will ask the public about their attitudes towards the community centre concept and projected costs associated with the facility.
The consultants will prepare the survey for council's consideration at its Aug. 25 meeting, which will also serve as the next update on efforts to complete a business plan for the project.
Before the draft public survey is brought forward, council was asked to complete an internal survey about their own preferences for the project.
In an interview following the discussion between council and Roma, Andy Weiss, the town's chief administrative officer, said the consultants will take the information council provided through the internal survey to "tailor" a plan for the proposed community centre that the town can then present to the public for their input.
He added council will thoroughly look over the draft survey before approving it for distribution to the public to make sure it asks residents the right questions regarding the community centre concept so council can determine in the future whether to green-light the project or not.
"Are the questions that we're asking the public, are they going to be accurate enough or adequate enough for council to make decisions?" Weiss said.
Even if the concept garners public support, he said, the community centre project may prove to be beyond the town's means once concrete cost numbers are finalized.
"Council may have a decision to make that isn't pleasant in the fact that this may be beyond our financial capacity to swing. This process will give us, at the end of the day, those numbers that we can make this difficult decision with."
The intention to develop a business plan for the centre comes after the completion of needs assessments and feasibility studies over the past three years.
Although a completed plan would allow the town to become eligible for grants and other sources of funding for the proposed centre, the town is also working to secure partners to help develop the proposed project.
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