Town hopes for youth centre approval

The Town of Port aux Basques is hoping that government stimulus spending will help fund the creation of a new youth centre and daycare.

The town is putting forward a proposal that would see a $1.2 million facility built in the Hardy's Arterial area near the schools and Bruce II Sports Centre.

It's the next step in the discussions between many community partners that have been working on the concept for several months.

Mayor Brian Button said a lack of child care is an ongoing issue in the gateway town and has been for some time. He said it negatively impacts young parents trying to secure employment as well as the town's efforts to attract young professionals to the area.

If the proposal is approved, Mayor Button says the town's contribution could be as little as $100,000. He said that may seem like a large amount, but it's a small price for such a large piece of infrastructure that would bring many benefits to the town.

One of those benefits would be up to 10 permanent jobs, possibly more.

The proposal is being submitted under the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Funding program, which cost shares projects between all three levels of government.

Mayor Button called the proposal the beginning of phase two of the process. He said the community partners have already put in a lot of time and effort into researching and planning how such a facility would need to be constructed and run.

By being the proponent on the funding proposal, Mayor Button said the town is showing its commitment to the idea.

editor@gulfnews.ca