Officials in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough say they’re ready to formally open the doors to their new recreation facility.
The Chedabucto Lifestyle Complex grand opening is Friday; the facility includes an outdoor rink, a figure-eight skating loop, an artificial turf field and four-lane running track, and a new community recreation centre, as well as meeting rooms and offices inside.
Vernon Pitts, Guysborough’s warden, tells The Hawk it’s an important time for community members.
“The municipality is just a buzz- people are very, very excited about the grand opening,” he says. “I expect there’s going to be a lot of people around, and people in our municipality, the vast majority, are very excited about this project- it’s been a lot of work by a lot of people.”
Pitts said it’s nice to have a project of this magnitude on schedule, and pretty much on budget.
He says there were many important contributors to the roughly $11 million project, including residents.
“The community stepped forward with their fundraising efforts, and they’re on the hook for $500,000,” he says. “The last figures I had, they’re well into the $400,000 (range), so I expect they’re going to do really well there.”
Pitts says the idea of this type of facility has been discussed for more than 20 years, but councillors were pleased to pull the trigger at the right time.
He says the shinny rink and figure-eight skating loop are going to be important parts of the project, but the soccer field is also a real gem.
Pitts says the facility is for all community members, including naysayers of the project.
