ESTEVAN - Interest remains in the effort to bring a new, multi-use recreation facility in Estevan.
The second meeting for the project was held April 16 at the Days Inn. Kevin Mortenson, who is among the people involved with the project, said 13 people were in attendance.
One new organization was represented at the discussions; the others present were people who attended the first meeting in March or different delegates for groups who attended the first meeting. Scheduling conflicts prevented some people from attending.
"With a bunch of new faces, there's different ideas and opinions," said Mortenson in an interview with SaskToday.
It became difficult to come to a consensus on some matters, he said.
Mortenson has been hoping to see a field house, at least one ice surface and hard-court surfaces for basketball and volleyball constructed. Some at the meeting suggested building something smaller.
"I'm hoping we can get some sort of endorsements from the clubs, and start with that, get some sort of a committee filled, find out what something like this is going to cost, and get the city behind us. Then we have to sell it to the taxpayers," said Mortenson.
Reports from the different user groups would explain how the facility would affect the sport, the ways it would enhance the community and what kinds of events they would host.
Mortenson has stressed that this concept is in its preliminary stages, and it isn't a guarantee to proceed. They don't have anything from the engineers or the architects. And he doesn't know how much it would cost, but if the full facility that he envisions were to go ahead, it might have a $50 million price tag.
He vowed he wants to keep the burden on the local taxpayers to a minimum through fundraising efforts and seeking government grants.
"For us to raise money for something like that, there's going to be some potholes along the way."
A date for the next meeting has not been set. He recognizes it will be tough to get everyone together with baseball and soccer starting soon. And he hopes he can have some continuity from the organizations and who attends the meetings.
The vast majority of the feedback has been positive thus far, and Mortenson said he is still very encouraged.
Â鶹´«Ã½ will continue to have updates on the story.
