A Cedar Cottage community activist believes “fiscal restraints” could throw a wrench into planning for the park board’s proposed new Trout Lake Community Centre.

Lew MacDonald told the Straight he thinks there is “no certainty” about the project’s budget, even though the electorate gave it the nod as part of the capital plan on the civic ballot in November 2008.

At its meeting on Monday (October 5), park commissioners will vote on a concept design for a new Trout Lake Community Centre development-permit application. A construction tender is expected to go out in January 2010, according to a park-board staff report dated September 23. The report states that construction will begin in March 2010 and be finished in fall 2011.

“So, the question is, with such a huge reduction in capital expenditures, and with huge costs being incurred around hosting the Olympics, and with an approval date looking on the eve of the Olympic party—and after all this money has been spent—I’m wondering what kind of appetite city council is going to have to approve the budget for Trout Lake Community Centre,” MacDonald said.

Green park commissioner Stuart Mackinnon told the Straight he would relay MacDonald’s concerns to the board at its next meeting.

“As far as we know, capital-plan money has been allocated to it,” Mackinnon said by phone. “That money is sitting. City council has their hands on it, but as far as we know, it was approved in the capital plan by the electorate of Vancouver, and”¦it should not be affected by the budget.”

COPE commissioner Loretta Woodcock had to check with park-board staff after the Straight called her. The three-term commissioner said the budget originally covered a facility 32,000 square feet in size. Now, Woodcock claims, the Trout Lake Community Centre Association wants an extra 2,000 square feet, which is not covered by the budget.

“We’re hoping that the cost escalations will have gone down so we can get the extra 2,000 square feet,” Woodcock said by phone. “So there will actually be two separate quotes when we tender the building contract. One will be for 32,000 square feet, and the other will include the extra 2,000 square feet.” There will also be two sets of designs, Woodcock added.

MacDonald noted that January 2010 is a “critical” time.

“The budget for this project does not get approved until January 2010, so that budget could be zero,” he said. “They could approve zero. There’s nothing making them approve anything, right?”

According to Woodcock, the park board has already applied for a portion of the $70 million set aside by the federal government for “shovel-ready” projects in Vancouver.