Hudson seeks grant to aid renovation
The Town of Hudson hopes to halve the cost of long-overdue renovations to the Stephen F. Shaar Community Centre with the help of a federal government loan.
Council passed a bylaw April 3 calling for a loan of $555,000 to pay for the renovations to the building, which the city will borrow only if the federal government grants up to $250,000 under the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program.
“The loan bylaw is conditional to the approval of the grant, so we’re not asking for any money from residents,” said the town’s director general, Jean-Pierre Roy.
The town expects a response from the federal government at the beginning of May, he said.
Even if the grant amount does not come through, the town will have to undertake urgent repairs to the building’s leaking roof, which threatens the integrity of the entire structure, Roy said.
Hudson has up to $100,000 available in its budget to repair the roof and undertake other shorter term “patch-up” repairs in case it can’t go through with thorough with the renovations, he said.
The community centre hosts recreational activities run by the municipality and serves as the town’s emergency shelter. In addition to a new roof, the facility must replace the buildings wiring and windows, upgrade air conditioning and heating systems, and refurbish washrooms and kitchen facilities up to modern standards that save on energy and water bills, a recent communiqué on the town’s website states. Renovations will include additions to make the building wheelchair-accessible, and add meeting rooms in the building for community groups.
Town council’s bylaw for the loan drew a relatively large turnout of 363 residents who signed a registry, April 18, calling for a townwide vote on whether to allow the loan. The turnout fell short of the 428 signatures required to force council to either call a referendum or drop the loan bylaw.
Roy said any concerns residents may have had that the proposed $555,000 loan would initiate an increase in municipal taxes are unfounded, because funds for the renovations — expected to cost the town less than half of the loan amount — are already included in Hudson’s budget.
“If we don’t get the federal grant, then we are not going forward with the project,” Roy said, noting that bylaw clearly states the loan is conditional to obtaining the Canada 150 grant.