Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford was in Fort Frances last week, announcing funding of over $5 million for several projects, including an expansion for St. Mary School and renovations at the Memorial Sports Complex.
“Supporting local communities helps create jobs and keeps the North competitive,” Rickford said. “Today’s investment will have tangible positive impacts, leading to economic prosperity and providing opportunities for the residents and business owners of Fort Frances.”
The funding comes from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, which Rickford has helped to revamp over his tenure as Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry.
Rickford announced $1.7 million for the Sports Complex, and $2.6 million going to the school.
St. Mary School has been over capacity since it opened in 2020, and the enrollment has increased since.
Jackie Robinson, Director of Education with the Northwest Catholic District School Board, said the funding will create more space for students.
“The plan right now is to have a two-classroom addition at the north end of the school and a one-classroom addition at the west side of the school,” Robinson said. “When this school building was originally built, it was built with possible additions or expansions in mind, so adding to the school should not disrupt the interior of the school.”
For now, the school is using portable classrooms, as well as classrooms in the older St. Francis school building next door, which St. Mary was intended to replace.
While there is no timeline in place for these renovations, Robinson said the board is hopeful that they can be part of a pilot project to have the work done off-site and brought in as part of a modular project.
“We are waiting for the final approvals on the possibility of the modular pilot project,” she said. “If that doesn’t happen then we will still receive a more traditional addition to the building, so we’re still in the very preliminary stages.”
At the Memorial Sports Complex, the funds are part of the funding required to renovate and revamp the pool and exercise areas. Manager of Operations and Facilities for the Town of Fort Frances Travis Robb says this round of funding is a step towards a major redevelopment of that part of the Sports Complex.
“The plan is to expand east and south,” Robb said. “To allow for the expansion of the weight room, the pool and change room area.”
The change room area will see renovations to add a family change room, as well as making all of the rooms compliant with accessibility legislation. While plans are still being developed, Robb says they’d like to do the renovations with as little disruption to current routines as possible.
“We’d like to mitigate downtime as much as possible,” Robb said.
That could mean a new pool is built while the old one remains in operation, but Robb says there is a lot to consider and they are not sure that will be a possibility yet. While the planning phases are set to begin, the start of work is some time away. Robb said pending additional funding, shovels could be in the ground in the fall of 2023.
Fort Frances Mayor June Caul was excited to hear the funding announced for different areas in the town, saying they will help with some much-needed upgrades. In addition to the Sports Complex, over $466,000 was announced for an extension to the Sister Kennedy Centre, $376,000 was announced to upgrade the docks at Sorting Gap Marina and $148,000 was announced for upgrades at the Fort Frances Municipal Airport.
“All of our facilities in the area are quite old now, and have needed an upgrade for quite some time,” Caul said. “This is a place where people come to for all kinds of recreational activities and it’s important to have decent facilities for them to work out in and play. [The Memorial Sports Centre] has needed an upgrade for quite some time.”
Caul said the funding goes a long way towards helping the Town keep things in top shape for those using the facilities.
“Recreation and culture cost the most for a town to operate in their budget,” Caul said. “We rely on funding like this to be able to operate in any way or refurbish anything.”
