West Nipissing council decided to hold off on building an outdoor basketball court, as the estimate for the project was too expensive.
The idea was to lay down a court behind the Cache Bay Community Centre, at 55 Cache Street, Cache Bay. As per the plan, the new court would be next to the splash park and playground. That site is user-friendly, safe, and has enough space to accommodate the 50 by 25-foot court, municipal staff noted in a report to council.
However, the estimated cost of $118,238 prompted council to reconsider the project, at least for this year.
That money might be better spent investing in the Cache Bay Community Centre itself, Mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon noted. She said, “I would love to see a basketball court in Cache Bay, but I think that the money could be much better spent on things that are absolutely required, to make sure that building is standing 10 years from now.”
“Because without significant investment in that facility,” the mayor continued, “and other recreational facilities, you’re going to have a basketball court with no building.” She suggested that money, along with money raised from municipal land sales, be used toward maintaining the Community Centre.
Mayor Thorne Rochon concluded, “I think that spending money on our existing facilities is more important than creating a new outdoor recreation space.”
Councillor St. Louise mentioned that many of those concerns raised by the mayor, “Have been there for the past 10 years and nothing has been happening.” He added that the municipality can apply for grants to help offset maintenance and repair costs.
As for the basketball court, suggestions were made to put up some nets at the outdoor rink. The rink base is hard-packed gravel, but as Councillor Kris Rivard noted, “You can still shoot hoops and play 21, instead of investing $120 thousand.”
Another option bandied about was to put a net or two somewhere behind the Community Centre, minus the fancy court. As for that proposed court, the estimate broke down like this: $6,300 for site preparation, $30,600 to lay down a 25 by 50-foot granular pad, and another $30,000 to pave over that stone and paint some lines.
The nets ring at $13,900 for the pair, plus another $6,000 for site grading, clean-up, and topsoil, and $9,800 for a concrete barrier. Add nearly $20,000 for a contingency budget, plus some tax, and you’ve hit just under $120,000.
Council will consider options regarding outdoor basketball in Cache Bay at a future meeting.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.