Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (May 24/02) - Inuvik will be getting some new space for an old facility that's outgrown its current location.

The fitness centre, now located at the Aurora College Inuvik Campus, might be moving into the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex this summer.

Pending approval from town council, a soon-to-be completed room on the second floor will become the new fitness centre.

Following a meeting at town hall last week, Mayor Peter Clarkson said the plan seems like a good one for all concerned.

"Council has to approve the use of the space and that the town will administer it," Clarkson said.

The new leisure centre had originally planned to include a fitness area on the second floor, but Clarkson says the current budget won't allow for that.

"The space will be there, but we will have to wait until we raise more money," he said.

"The preliminary assessments are that we won't have the money we need to finish the upstairs part."

He said once the leisure centre is completed, the fitness equipment could be moved over then.

Gord Johnston, co-ordinator for the recreational leaders program at the Inuvik campus, said the fitness centre got its start at the college about 15 years ago.

"Bert Squires was one of the instructors in the recreation leaders program and also an Olympic weightlifter," Johnston said.

"There were some weights left by the military and then he brought up his weights and the college was using it and then people from outside wanted to start using it too."

The college started to charge for the service and slowly built-up the equipment and the membership.

The college will donate the estimated $70,000 worth of equipment to the new facility on the condition that the students get free access to the gym.

Johnston said the college is putting about $7,000 per year into running the centre from the college.

"We just can't afford to keep doing it as we are," he said. "We're doing it to help out the community."

If council approves the proposal, Johnston says they can move the equipment out in July or early August.

"That would be a good time because our next group of students aren't coming in until the end of August and we could use that space for another classroom," he said.

Mayor Clarkson says the space can utilize some of the town's economies of scale, with employees already in place for janitorial and maintenance.

Arnie Brown, the town's recreation facilities foreman, said the new space is near complete.

They have poured a concrete floor and separate stair access to the room and just walled-in the space and two bathrooms.

The budget was tagged at $125,000, but Brown says they came in under by almost $20,000 and should be finished a week early.

"We're hoping to have it finished for the petroleum show," Brown said.

The show will be held June 20-21 at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.