ENTERPRISE - Enterprise has opened the doors of its new community centre, which immediately becomes the centrepiece of the hamlet.

Mayor Al Flamand, right, cuts the ribbon to officially open the Enterprise Community Centre on Dec. 11 with the assistance of Deh Cho MLA and territorial cabinet minister Michael McLeod. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"This is sort of like the crown jewel at the moment," Mayor Al Flamand said during the Dec. 11 celebrations to launch the Enterprise Community Centre.

The mayor said it is the start of long-term plans to develop the community.

The $830,000 project was completed on time and slightly under budget.

Flamand explained the impressive new structure – a multi-roomed building that when fully furnished will feature a meeting hall, a fitness centre, a kitchen, a library, video games, televisions, pool tables and more – is important to Enterprise in a number of ways.

First of all, it is designed to create a sense of community.

"The reason why we did this building is to create a place for the elders and for the youth to get together and to get to know each other, and that's what this is going to do," he said.

Other members of the community are also expected to use the centre on a regular basis.

"It's going to be just that kind of a place," Flamand said. "I think what we were lacking before was a place to mix on a regular basis."

The mayor also believes the community centre, along with other improvements to the hamlet such as walking trails, will help attract new residents to Enterprise, a community of close to 94 residents.

"I think people are just going to have to think before they choose to live in Hay River," he said, referring to the largest South Slave town, 38 km away, which has more services.

The new centre certainly made a good impression on the many people who dropped by on Dec. 11 to check it out and enjoy a community feast and a dance.

Karl Lenoir, 16, said the new 4,400-square-foot building has pretty much everything.

"It's actually pretty big," he said. "I wasn't expecting it to be this good."

Praise for the new centre was also offered by Anne Boden, the mother of a young family.

"It's more than I expected it to be," she said. "It's actually really nice. I'm very happy."

Boden expects it will be used a lot by her family and other people.

"I think it will be a good asset to the community," she said.

Deh Cho MLA and territorial cabinet minister Michael McLeod, a guest at the opening ceremonies, is also very impressed with the centre.

McLeod noted it is the largest project Enterprise has undertaken since becoming a hamlet.

"I think it's fitting that it's one of the first projects out of the gate, but I think there's so much potential in this community and so many things yet to come," he said.

One unique feature about the new community centre is that all users of the facility will be receiving their own card keys to enter at any time.

"We're on an honour system here and, until such time as we feel we can't run it that way, that's the way we're going to run it," said Flamand, who claims there is zero crime in Enterprise, a community.

The new building is complete with security cameras just in case there is any trouble.

The centre, which has its own generator system, will also be an emergency shelter.

While the building is now called the Enterprise Community Centre, a contest may be held to choose a different name.

The construction project was supported with $563,893 from the federal Building Canada Fund and $266,157 in accumulated infrastructure funding the hamlet receives on an annual basis from the GNWT.

Construction began in June by UFA La Crete.

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