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Council cuts $7.3 million off Twin Arenas budget

Councillor Colleen Tatum, far left, takes part in her first meeting of council. Bradley Karp / REPORTER

(Photo: Council reviews capital projects during the April. 14, 2014 meeting. Bradley Karp/AFTERNOON REPORTER). 

Councillors shaved $7.3 million off the Northside Recreation Centre’s Twin Arenas. The cuts were approved during last night’s meeting when council reviewed capital projects in search of savings.

“It’s a 17.5 per cent reduction overall. I’ve been hearing from other people working with contractors on projects in their area, and they’re seeing anywhere between 20 to 30 per cent reductions of what they had budgeted for,” said Mayor Melissa Blake.

The Regional Recreation Corporation has to work with the builder on a new $34.5 million dollar budget. Coun. Sheldon Germain says there’s a number of different processes the RRC could go through.

“They could reduce the standard of the facility, they could reduce some amenities, they could maybe still fulfill the same project with less dollars,” said Germain.

The RMWB also looked at a grant for Vista Ridge, which plans an expansion that will include a 12-hole golf course and mini putt. It instructed administration to bring back a capital budget amendment on Enterprise Resource Planning for 2015.

-With files from Bradley Karp