Grand Forks city staff are recommending against partnering with the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary on a new community centre.
The final call rests with city council, which is expected to decide on Dec. 13 whether to push ahead or abandon the project.
A report before council on Monday said the city has a number of other major infrastructure projects on the go, and although Grand Forks could use a new meeting space, staff think other projects should take priority.
“Staff appreciate that the community centre project has been a long journey with an incredible amount of work undertaken to get to the current position,” chief administrator Duncan Redfearn wrote.
“Although it is well known that the city needs a gathering space, based on a technical review, the professional recommendation at this time is to dedicate available financial resources to completing the flood mitigation works, mitigating known risks within our water distribution system and completely removing and replacing much of our downtown core infrastructure.”
The report also suggests there may be less costly alternatives to creating a gathering space, by partnering with a new or existing development.
The centre was proposed to go next to the Jack Goddard Memorial Arena and the Grand Forks and District Aquatic Centre at an estimated cost of $9.7 million.