The City of Warman’s application for grant funding to add a second ice surface in the Legends Centre was not approved for the fourth time in five years earlier this month.
But city officials are hopeful the provincial and federal governments will approve the project during the next round of Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) funding in early May.
The addition of a second ice surface for the Legends Centre is currently on the city’s 10-year capital investment plan, but timing of construction to begin on the project is partly contingent on infrastructure funding from senior levels of government.
The cost of the addition is estimated to be about $12 million.
The city first applied unsuccessfully for infrastructure project funding in 2018. Subsequent grant applications were denied in 2019, 2021 and again in 2022.
But in this game, four strikes doesn’t mean you’re out. Warman’s project application was not denied outright, but because of the large number of applications, it was deferred to the next phase of funding decisions when additional funding would be available..
The city has re-submitted its most recent application, with updated cost estimates, for a fifth time.
And according to Warman Mayor Gary Philipchuk, the odds of being selected for funding are higher this time around.
Warman Mayor Gary Philipchuk stated in the city’s facebook post April 7 he’s “disappointed” the proposed project for a second ice surface at the Legends Centre was not selected under the most recent intake of ICIP.
If the project had been given the green light in early April, that would have meant construction on the arena expansion could have begun this calendar year.
“However the project has been considered an alternate, and, in turn, has been deferred to Phase 2, which closes May 10,” said Philipchuk.
He noted that being designated as an alternate offers a chance the project could still go ahead if any selected project were unable to start construction in 2022.
“The City has received assurance from the provincial government that our project will receive strong consideration against a new intake of applications in Phase 2,” said Philipchuk. “Should the project be selected, the City anticipates this decision would come in the late summer or early fall, meaning construction would most likely be pushed back to 2023.”
Philipchuk said elected officials and senior administration are working with Martensville-Warman MLA Terry Jenson and the Ministry of Government Relations to “ensure this pressing community need is fully realized leading up to, and during, the assessment process.”
Warman City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Kevin Tooley expressed frustration about the lack of grant funding during the Warman City Council meeting on Monday, April 11.
“I’m very disappointed with the decision by the provincial and federal governments,” said Tooley. “For the second census in a row, Warman is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, but that fact isn’t being recognized by senior levels of government.”
Tooley said he’s disappointing to see projects in “long-established but less-vibrant” centres approved while “up-and-coming communities” like Warman are excluded from the pool of funding.