alt="City of Meadow Lake - Facility Projects and Upgrades">

A grant was received in 2021 to construct a path  to join the path in our Lions Park to the path on Flying Dust. The project continues with the preparation of wayfinding signage, some lighting, and some landscaping work to be installed/completed in the spring of 2023 as soon as the weather allows. With some savings found in other areas of the project we were able to increase the planned lighting over the original 10 lights. 

Recreation Manager Regan Beck is still on the hunt for more donors and sponsors! For more information or to donate or sponsor the project contact Rec Manager, Regan Beck at recmanager@meadowlake.ca. 

Walking Path - Final Approved Route

The photo below depicts the final route the path will take. For more information and details on the chosen route, please review the overview document "Walking Path - Final Path Route" for zoomed in details of each section with written explanations.

Updated - February 1, 2023

In fall of 2021 the City applied for a grant under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). This application was to construct not just a replacement for the Arena that burned down in the summer of 2021, but to develop a multi-purpose facility that could provide enhanced programming and services to the community and surrounding region. 

We received official grant approval in fall of 2022 and are moving forward with this once in a generation project. 

User groups and stakeholder groups have been engaged and discussions on what the community needs and wants from this new facility have taken place. We have prepared the scope of work with our consultants and have created the owner's statement of the new facility's requirements, room adjacencies, etc. 

In 2022 we issued an open public Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to prequalify Design-Build companies which closed. The city issues tenders like this one on sasktenders.ca. We had eight companies respond to this RFQ.

The City chose the top three companies based on criteria like experience, qualifications, etc. The official tender (Request for Proposals (RFP)) was issued to those three companies (Bird, Wright and Quorex) and they have been asked to submit Design-Build proposals for the project. This RFP process will take approximately 10 weeks to work through. 

We hope potentially have shovels in the ground in the Summer of 2023.  

The goal of the project is substantial completion by fall/winter of 2024 (at least for the main arena portion). 

Please review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) below for this project.

Q: What are the proposed areas that might be built as part of the new Recreation and Civic Centre and how have they been prioritized? 

A: The following elements prioritized from #1 to #5 were included as part of the initial grant application for the new facility. Council used a 2020 community survey and information such as existing building conditions to inform this process.

1: Arena

2: Core (Admin Space)

3: Field House

4: Event Centre

5: Pleasure Skating Rink 

At a special meeting held on March 2, 2023, after careful consideration of available budget, Council decided to pull the proposed Pleasure Skating Rink (which is projected to cost around $2-3million) from the scope of work for this project.

The three companies bidding on the project (Bird, Quorex and Wright) have been asked to get creative with their proposals to give the City as many of the requested elements as possible for the budget we have. In other words, give us the most value for dollar possible. We understand that further sacrifices to the scope may yet be required, but it was felt that by removing the pleasure rink it would give the three companies more flexibility in their design and give us our best chance of getting as many quality elements as we can.

The field house and event centre are sort of tied at number three but something had to go first so Council selected the field house as the third priority. However, the design-build companies have been asked to provide the best value for our dollar so, they could return designs that include some or all of elements #2-4 in any order, in addition to the rink. We won’t really know until those submissions come in. Proposals will be submitted to the City on April 6^th, 2023.  

Q: What other options were considered by the city for the new facility??

A: The ICIP (Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program) grant funding is not unlimited. There was a set limit to the overall funds that were available under the grant program. The more money the city asked for to construct a new facility, the less there was in the pot to go around to other communities in the province who we were also competing with for this funding. Therefore, Council had to make some tough choices in deciding what the priorities for this facility would be. There is the opportunity to add on to the facility in future years.

There were a number of options suggested by the community that were discussed by Council including a new library space, curling rink, community outreach services, squash courts, etc. There was also discussion on trying to see if we could have the capability to add on a future Aquatic Centre when our current one reaches the end of its life span. There were so many great ideas proposed by the community, and your elected representatives had a difficult decision choosing the priorities for this project.

Q: Is the grant for the new Recreation and Civic Center also paying for a new City Hall?

A: The “Core” area covered in the grant funding contains recreation admin offices, ticket/service counter spaces, security area, and meeting space. That said, the Core is also being designed with enough space within it to encompass a new City Hall area, but finishing the City Hall portion is NOT part of the grant funding (because it is ineligible). The outfitting of a new city hall space within this new facility will be under separate contract with the company building it. The actual fitting out of the City Hall space will be done by the City, with City funds, outside of the grant funding. The only thing the grant funding pays for is the exterior shell of the entire Core space, and access points to facility infrastructure that City Hall would need access to.

We understand that further sacrifices to the scope may yet be required based on the budget we have, and we won’t know for certain which of the proposed elements of the facility will be built until we see the proposed plans. Other than the arena of course, the arena is the top priority for this facility.

Q: Will there be sporting goods store and a gym/fitness centre in the new facility?

A: We have requested that the proposed design for the facility include a space for skate sharpening and possible renting or loaning of skates for those that don’t have them. There will not be a sporting goods store in the new facility as businesses like this are already established in our area. There will also be no commercial gym or fitness centre for the same reason. However, we are hoping to have a field house in the new facility which is a gymnasium type space, with courts for volleyball, basketball, pickleball and indoor soccer, a walking track, locker rooms, and some studio space for programs and activities. While there may, at some point, be some equipment like free weights in this field house space, they are not part of this plan.  

Q: What will this facility cost?

A: Due to the rise in construction costs since 2021 when the grant was first applied for, cost is now our biggest challenge. 

    In the fall of 2022 we announced approval of a grant to help us build the new facility totaling $37.3 million. Broken down into the following:

• $14.9M Federal
• $12.4M Provincial
• $10 M Municipal

    City Council has committed an additional $5M outside of the grant funding to make a total project budget of $42.3M.

Q: When will we get our new facility?

A: The tender process we entered into at the end of January 2023 will take about 10 weeks or so, into late spring. We hope to have boots on the ground this summer, and completion of arena portion of the facility by fall of 2024. Under the grant the whole facility must be complete by March 2025.

Q: Who has provided input into this project?

A: Last fall multiple stakeholders and user groups were asked to participate in developing the scope of the project. They were asked about their requirements for a new facility, including the kinds of spaces and amenities they’d like to see, the layout, levels of access, capacity, and so on. We also have an advisory group made up of appointees who have been assisting and will continue to assist in the project throughout construction. 

• Q: Which user/stakeholder groups were contacted to provide input?
• A: A number of user groups and stakeholder groups were invited to complete a survey on their use and needs of a new facility, and appoint a representative to attend an in-person engagement session. The following groups were contacted in the fall. There may be additional groups who have been contacted for specific input since that time.
  •  

    Group	Representing
    Ice Users - Hockey	Senior Hockey
    Ice Users - Hockey	Minor Hockey
    Ice Users - Hockey	Men's Rec Hockey
    Ice Users - Hockey	Ladies Rec Hockey
    Ice Users - Hockey	In-line Hockey
    Ice Users - Skating	Figure Skating
    Accessibility-Seniors	Multi-Works
    Accessibility-Seniors	Meadow Lake Pensioner and Senior Citizens Organization
    Accessibility-Seniors	Special Olympics
    Youth	Kids First
    Youth	KidSport
    Youth	Rec Board Youth Member
    Schools	Home Schoolers
    Schools	Carpenter High School
    Schools	Lakeview School
    Schools	Gateway Elementary
    Schools	Jubilee
    Schools	Jonas
    Schools	NWRC
    Schools	TPEC
    Event Centre Users	Kin (Telemiracle)
    Event Centre Users	School of Dance
    Event Centre Users	Local DJ
    Field House Users	Wresting Club
    Field House Users	Gymnastics Club
    Field House Users	Indoor Walking Club
    Field House Users	Youth Soccer
    Field House Users	Minor Ball
    Field House Users	Special Olympics
    Field House Users	Adult Rec Basketball
    Other Stakeholders	Kin
    Other Stakeholders	Legion
    Other Stakeholders	Lions
    Other Stakeholders	Chamber of Commerce

• Q: Who are the members of the Advisory Committee and what do they do?
• A: We sent requests out to neighbouring communities and asked them to appoint representatives to our Advisory Committee (AC). This committee provides input into the scope of the project, feedback on the needs of their communities, feedback based in their expertise and experience, participates in activities like Risk Management Workshops, interviews with proponents to provide feedback on proposed designs, and more. The following are the members of the Advisory Committee. They are joined by additional members including past and present city staff, building officials, legal council, registered community planners and more experts who can assist in the success of this project. 
  •  

    Representing	Appointee/Alternate	Name
    City of Meadow Lake	Appointee	Conrad Read
    City of Meadow Lake	Appointee	Mauri Young
    City of Meadow Lake	Alternate	Clay DeBray
    RM of Meadow Lake	Appointee	Ashley Russel
    RM of Meadow Lake	Appointee	Garry Ratke
    RM of Meadow Lake	Alternate	Mike Siklenka
    Flying Dust	Appointee	Terry Villeneuve
    Flying Dust	Alternate	N/A
    Métis Nation of Saskatchewan	Appointee	Loretta King
    Métis Nation of Saskatchewan	Alternate	N/A
    MLTC	Appointee	Declined to Participate
    MLTC	Alternate	Declined to Participate

The city received a grant to construct a Skatepark in Lions Park. This project will be completed with the ramps/equipment installed in the spring of 2023. Recreation Manager Regan Beck is still on the hunt for more donors and sponsors! For more information or to donate or sponsor the project contact Rec Manager, Regan Beck at recmanager@meadowlake.ca.