Municipality of Argyle approves further $100,000 for school community centre

The new contribution is on top of the $150,000 the Municipality of Argyle previously had committed to the project.

Tenders were issued for the project and the lowest submitted bid was about $600,000 higher than the $3-million anticipated cost.

Funding partners – including the Municipality of Argyle – are being approached for help in making up the $600,000 difference, Argyle council was told during its June 24 meeting.

Garian Construction was awarded the contract and work at the site has begun.

“We’ve made a lot of progress (with regard to funding),” project spokesman Allister Surette said in his Argyle council address. Noting that numerous partners are supporting the project, he said, “To coordinate this is no easy task.”

At the community level, meanwhile, the goal is to raise $350,000, about $80,000 of which, unofficially, has been raised. This money is to be generated through the sponsorship of theatre seats and the like. Citizens, businesses and other groups will have a chance to contribute.

As for what the centre will consist of, the plan is for a new, two-storey section to add about 15,000 square feet of space to the school, most of it to be located behind the gymnasium, towards the field.

The centre will include a 300-seat theatre, a day-care/pre-school, an art gallery, a meeting room for use by various groups and office space for the Conseil acadien de Par-en-Bas (CAPEB) and other organizations perhaps interested in being there.

CAPEB and the municipality will be responsible for things like room reservations and policies regarding room and equipment usage, but the idea is that the centre, once finished, will be owned by the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, which will be responsible for upkeep, heating and electricity.

Noting that the school community centre proposal goes back to 2001 or so, Surette acknowledged to Argyle council, “It’s been a long time coming.”

Proponents note that the Municipality of Argyle is the only major Acadian region in Nova Scotia without such a facility.

Important from a cultural perspective, the centre also will be good for the “entire economic region of Argyle,” according to a fact sheet included as part of a media package for Tuesday’s council session.

It refers to a feasibility study by Jean-Guy Vienneau citing research done across Canada showing the importance – in terms of culture and heritage – of having a link between a school and its community.

It also notes that this project would not be possible without the commitment of the CSAP and the school.