After a series of public engagement sessions, the City of Grande Prairie has narrowed down what a potential new recreation facility could look like in GP.
During council’s Public and Protective Services Committee Tuesday meeting, committee members received feedback from city administration regarding how different community members would like to utilize the facility.
According to a report, the top three most highly-valued services according to members of the public include an indoor walking track, a turf surface, and an indoor playground, and Deputy Mayor Gladys Blackmore says the feedback has been useful for the city, to ensure the facility’s services will be adequately used.
“We’re still in the planning process for the multi-sport recreation facility, we’ve heard the input from the community that they want many sports to be able to use the building,” she says.
Additionally, council has narrowed the potential location for the facility down to two areas, both in the area of Avondale. Both locations see the facility near Peace Wapiti Academy; however, parking concerns continue to be a topic of discussion for councillors, but Blackmore says input from the community has been a key factor in council’s decision going forward.
“We’ve looked at the locations that have been recommended by administration and we’ve looked at the input from the community, [and] that will come forward in a future agenda, I’m not sure exactly what the timeline will be but we will be dealing with that over the next couple of months.”
During council’s 2024 Budget Deliberations, $10 million in capital funding was approved for the project as a result of high demand from community members.
