By Sam Normand
[1]BELLEVILLE(26/09/2012) With feedback the centre has made changes to costs to accommodate low income users and families. Photo by Sam Normand
Users of the new Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre are amazed with the new addition to the community.
“I think the new facilities are fantastic, even though I’ve only come so far to pay my taxes,” said 66-year-old Laura Rogers. Rogers said that she’ll be back soon to use the aquatic area, specifically the pool.
“I like it, it’s a great place to just sit and talk with each other and just hang out,” said 14-year-old John Young. Young said that while he doesn’t play any sports, the new facilities provide a great alternative to the mall for enjoying time with his friends.
Brittany and Madison, both 15, said that they were impressed with how large the new centre is.
The new facilities include two Olympic-sized ice rinks, a full aquatic facility, and an indoor track. Tracy Newton, the communications co-ordinator for the centre, said that the construction was a community effort.
“The most important thing is that this was very much a community involved project. Staff were participating as well,” says Newton. “Feedback we’ve received from both the community and users has been overwhelmingly positive. We actively are promoting and encouraging a feedback system so that we can change things when we need to.”
Due to feedback, changes have already been made to the rates charged for both families and low-income users. Those who fall under this category can apply for a subsidiary to offset up to 75 per cent of the cost of use. These changes will be put in place next week.
The new additions feature a host of “green” initiatives, including a roof-mounted solar panel array, heat recycling, and public transport provided to the facility. The building boasts up to 98 per cent heat recycling rate for their refrigeration units, which is then used to warm the track and other areas.
The construction of the centre had its share of problems, however. The project was originally slated to be opened about 18 months ago, but saw that date pushed back time and time again. It was hoped that it would be open by March or April of this year.
A discrepancy with contractors saw a change of construction companies. Atlas Corporation, the general contractor who was overseeing the construction of the centre is suing the city for breach of contract. In addition, the city is counter-suing for the same reason. Several sub-contractors are suing both Atlas and the city.
“It’s like anything that’s new, there will always be issues. The commitment from our side is to ensure that we’re always actively trying to fix those things. I don’t think we’ll ever stop asking for feedback,” said Newton. “I think that’s really important and that’s certainly something that from a staff perspective and from a city of Belleville perspective we’re really interested in.”