West Grey is not applying for a federal grant to upgrade accessibility at the Elmwood Community Centre.
Council declined to submit a joint accessibility grant application with Brockton to the Enabling Accessibility Fund – Mid-Sized Projects program during a meeting on Dec. 5.
Brockton recently approached West Grey with this federal funding program, which addresses the accessibility of programs and public spaces across the country.
A report from Corporate and Community Initiatives Officer Kodey Hewlett says, over the years, several accessibility improvements have been identified at the community centre, including main door access, upper and lower hall access, and various ramp access throughout the facility.
Mayor Kevin Eccles says to meet grant requirements, they and Brockton would need to spend a combined $500,000 to upgrade the facility. The grant would cover about 60 per cent of the costs, and each municipality would have to contribute 17.5 per cent of total projects costs, an estimated budget impact of $87,500.
“We are struggling tremendously with budgetary constraints at the present moment and we are getting down to the fine part of it. This would have added another per cent onto West Grey’s budget in a year where we are really struggling to be able to maintain individual things,” says Eccles.
He says the grant was going to be applied for by Brockton with minimal consultation with West Grey.
Eccles says he would certainly consider addressing any accessibility issues if a proposal would come forward.
“We’ve always been very supportive of the community centre,” says Eccles. “We would certainly be open to it at a future date for improvements to a very valued community building.”
He says Brockton indicated they would follow West Grey’s lead with whatever council decided to do.
