Many community construction projects have seen costs skyrocket and timelines drag these last couple of years due to pandemic uncertainty.
This hasn’t been the case for the new Black Creek Community Centre Pavilion.
During the official opening Saturday afternoon, board chair and facilities director Jerry Griffin credited contractor George Wiebe of Sturdi Construction for working hard to find the right materials and finish the job on time.
“We are on time, under budget. We have our contingency money,” he said. “He was unbelievable.”
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The groundbreaking ceremony took place back in March.
As well as Wiebe, Griffin credited the province and the others on the community board for making the project a reality, without the community having to come up with matching funds.
“These kinds of grants don’t come along every often,” he said.
The site is a covered, 3,000-square-foot open air centre that will allow the community to host a range of events, from dances to classes, without worrying about air quality during a pandemic yet still have a roof over everyone’s heads.
“Today’s a special day for us here,” Griffin said. “We have a lot to celebrate.”
He also outlined the history of the community centre, which started with some farmers moving a one-room school building back in the 1950s before the centre evolved over the years. The community, Griffin added, can now look forward to learning how best it can use the new facility.
“We’re always looking for ideas and input from the community,” he added.
For the opening ceremony, executive members Ian Doe and Chris McPhedran cut the ribbon to open the site officially.
There was food and other refreshments available, along with entertainment throughout the day, starting with the Studio North dance team and ending with Edwin Grieve and his family band. Other acts scheduled for the day included the ukulele club, a magician and a martial arts performance.
Griffin also pointed out later something he forget to mention at the opening — a surprise buried at the site during the construction of the pavilion.
“We put in a time capsule under the slab,” he said, adding that while there is no set time to open it, whoever does at whatever point in the future will find items like a flyer from the grocery store, the calendar of events from the speedway and even a bottle of spirits.
mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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