HAGERSVILLE—At a Council in Committee meeting last week, County Community and Development Services Manager Mike Evers presented Council with a look at a newly updated design proposal for the in-development Active Living Centre + Library project that is due to open its doors in late 2025/early 2026.
The new design adds an additional 4,329 sq. ft. to the facility, raising the estimated cost from $10.4 million to $15 million.
Of that increase, $2 million is for inflationary-adjusted costs on the 2021 estimate and $2.6 million is for the added space, upping the size of the facility from its initial 13,522 sq. ft. to 17,851 sq. ft.
Evers said that the revised concept for the facility was the result of “in-depth needs analyses that we’ve done as a larger staff team in connection with CGS, the project’s architect. We’ve done functional assessments, design reviews, including some site visits to out-of-county facilities, stakeholder meetings, and also broader public consultation.”
“As staff we feel that the original concept was going in a different direction and wasn’t future proofed, and didn’t fully account for the anticipated growth in Hagersville,” he continued. “We have a much better view on what that growth is going to look like today than when the concept was originally put together in 2019 and brought into the budget in 2021.”
Evers continued, “With the population that sits are 3,200-3,300 people today, which is anticipated to grow to over 8,000 in the next 28-30 years, we feel that the revised concept will position us in a much better place in terms of being able to accommodate additional users, programs, etc.”
The facility will now host a larger gymnasium with a full-size basketball court and three pickleball courts.
The upgraded gym space would double as a meeting space for events with up to a 300-person capacity, with Evers noting that the County will seek to balance bookings to give all interested groups the opportunity to utilize the space in a co-operative and beneficial manner.
Also included is an upgraded multipurpose room for up to 50 people, ideal for smaller meetings and functioning in a similar manner to the old Hagersville Community Centre that was sold to help fund this new project.
Space has also been made for a staff office area and an OPP community office, with a larger lobby area adjacent to the library allowing for “better separation between the active living centre space and the library,” according to Evers.
He added, “More than that, it gives some additional space for some different types of programming, but also social areas, where folks can come and just have a seat, chat, connect.”
Evers broke down the current funding model for the project, which will be primarily funded through development charges, with 10% of the funding coming from community fundraising efforts being led by former Ward 4 Councillor Tony Dalimonte and the remainder from debt-based funding.
The overall breakdown of funding sources would be:
- Development Charges – $8.625 million
- Community Fundraising Donations – $1.5 million
- Debt – 4.875 million, all attributed to the library portion.
Evers said that an operations and programming plan will be developed starting later this year and presented to Council sometime in 2024 for inclusion in the 2025 operating budget: “What we anticipate at this stage in the game is the operations and programming plan would result in us needing 2.5-3 full time employees for the Active Living Centre side,” said Evers, noting that the library would be staffed by existing County library staff.
Evers hopes community partners and groups would help augment facility staff for events.
He stated that the OPP office space within the facility would be 100% funded by the County, without outside funding.
Councillor Marie Trainer inquired about the cost of adding an indoor pool, saying it was one of the most frequently asked questions she heard while campaigning in the recent byelection: “The whole county wants a pool. Every ward.”
Evers replied, “It’s very difficult to say what it would cost…. What is the size of the pool, what features would be incorporated with that pool? It’s not a simple calculation for us to do.”
He added that County staff are on the second phase of their Community Recreation and Facilities strategy, which includes a feasibility analysis for an indoor pool, but “it was never to be considered as part of this project.”
“Ideally this facility will be used all week long by all age cohorts, be it pickleball, basketball, or volleyball – but then also different clubs, arts, crafts, quilting clubs; use your imagination, the list goes on and on,” concluded Evers, noting the opportunities for different community groups to utilize the facilities as well. “Young and old would be served well by this entire facility.”
Council voted unanimously in favour of adopting the redesign. County staff will proceed with detailed facility design, site plan, and construction tender processes in line with the updated functional floor plan concept and will present Council with the amended budget for the project at a future meeting.
