Aspen View School Division has received conditional approval to manage the construction of Athabasca’s new secondary school, which will include the new municipal pool project.
The announcement was made following a meeting between members of the steering committee for Athabasca’s new secondary school and Minister of Infrastructure Wayne Drysdale last Wednesday.
“It was a very positive meeting,” said Aspen View superintendent Brian LeMessurier of the meeting in Athabasca County council chambers. “We’ve been given conditional approval for our partnership to run our pool and school project as one major project … that conditional approval allows us now to really take off with our planning.”
Previously, the province had stated it did not want to oversee building a pool as part of the new school’s construction.
According to LeMessurier and Drysdale, it is only a matter of formalities before the final approval is given to Aspen View.
“There are some questions that need to be answered, but I’m prepared to recommend that the school board manage the project and build it,” Drysdale said. “I just wanted to make sure we had full support of all the partners … and be confident that everybody is working together and they are able to manage this project.
“When you’re handing over that kind of money, you need to have some assurance that the capability is there to match the project and that everybody is agreeing on it,” Drysdale said.
The conditional approval opens the door for Aspen View to move forward with its designs for the school, all the while in consultation with its partners in the steering committee, which are the Town of Athabasca, Athabasca County, Athabasca University, the Alice B. Donahue Library and Archives board, and the Athabasca Regional Multiplex Society.
“Aspen View will play the major role in designing the school component, but we will be doing it in consultation with the other partners because it will be a jointly used facility,” LeMessurier explained. “But we will take the main lead on it because we’re in the best position to design the 21st-century school that will best serve our students.”
Some steering committee and community members have raised concerns about the new school and running services to the site near the multiplex. According to Drysdale, the steering committee assured him that things are under control.
“I think they’ve worked most of that out already … they’ve assured me that’s not a problem,” Drysdale said.
The feeling was shared by county councillor Larry Armfelt.
“I felt the whole aura in the room was very positive and everybody is trying to help everybody to make this a success,” he said. “I think we have to deal with the technicalities and deal with them in the best possible way we can.”
Aspen View and a few steering committee members met with Alberta Infrastructure yesterday, June 2, to learn the specific conditions attached to Wednesday’s approval.
LeMessurier said a date for public consultation will be set after that meeting; as of press time, no date is known.
