A new location for the gymnastics program was discussed at the council meeting on February 25th.

Administration brought forward two different options to council during the meeting.

The first option is trying to utilize space in the municipality and the other option is to rent a private space.

During the meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Patrick Thomas said it was determined finding a space the municipality wouldn’t have to rent was going to be difficult because it would most likely lead to displacing another group.

Council was presented with a private property in Blairmore but isn’t releasing the exact location at this time.

The location would provide the gymnastics program adequate space to continue classes without decreasing what the program offers.

Council will have to put approximately $30,000 a year into renting the space with more needed the first year due to some renovations being needed in the building.

Thomas said during the meeting that most of the cost will fall within the Albert Stella budget and that administration isn’t looking for more funds at this time.

Some questions were brought up by council regarding what kind of space the new location would provide.

Councillor Antil asked whether the space could be used for more than just gymnastics and Thomas said there is an opportunity for that.

“We are looking to see if our martial arts could utilize some of that space. On the other side, we were looking at trying to expand and see if we can grow the program as it will be more visible along Main Street.”

Some members of council would still prefer to spend money in a municipal facility rather than renting a private one but at this time that option doesn’t seem as feasible.

Councillor Sygutek said during the meeting that renting this space would benefit the community in the long run for multiple reasons.

“I think it's a great space. I think that we can add different programs in there. I think it's fantastic to have young people on main street Blairmore and families that can go down and have coffees. It might open up our businesses when families are in the area and we'll have a busy main street Blairmore. I'm all for it.”

Councillor Sygutek also added that if this proposal does go through, parents and users of the building would need to park behind it in order to keep parking readily available for business customers on Main Street.
After hearing the information brought to them, council carried a motion to allow administration to move ahead with renting a commercial facility within the community to house recreation programs for a minimum of three years.

There is currently no agreement finalized yet but administration is in talks with the property owner at this time.

If an agreement is reached, the plan is currently to have the building ready for the start of the spring program.

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