The CMRA has received a number of inquiries relating to the status of the Meadowood Community Centre.
The CMRA is currently engaged in negotiations with the RDN in order to operate the facility on their behalf. The CMRA is offering to operate the MCC entirely through a volunteer effort in partnership with the RDN. In return the RDN must cover all operating expenses and ensure our volunteers and our society are protected legally. Its important to understand that the CMRA is not being paid or seeking to be paid to provide this service. To date we have not been able to come to terms with the RDN. This has prevented us from advancing our efforts in order to prepare the facility for use. We do not have a time-line but expect this process to continue into the fall at least…
It should be noted that this facility was paid for through a federal gas tax grant for the purpose of operating as a community centre. Residents may have noted on recent tax notices that over 1/3 of the taxes you pay to the RDN are in support of recreational services. This amount covers the staffing of centralized facilities like Oceanside place and Ravensong Pool. These facilities are heavily subsidized by our collective tax dollars. Many of our residents can no longer afford to travel many kilometers to access these services. This is a big part of the reason why its so important to be able to access services we pay for here in our area. It was primarily this argument that enabled the CMRA to convince the RDN board to proceed with construction of the Meadowood Community Centre despite RDN staff opposition.
Should we fail to come to an agreement it will be up to the RDN to determine how to proceed. Our Area Director is fully on board with our offer but we will need the entire RDN board to support this as well. If we succeed we will be hosting an open house and putting a call out to volunteers to help staff and operate our new Centre. If you wish to be involved lets us know at through a message on our facebook page under Corcan Meadowood Residents Association or send an email to info@meadowoodresidents.com
Here is a link to a recent RDN meeting where the CMRA appeared as a delegation in order to update the RDN Board. Our presentation is at the 1 hour 11 minute mark. This meeting was held on June 14th.