An dry-floor facility for Coquitlam sports groups that has yet to be built is already at 95% capacity, a city councillor said this week.
Coun. Craig Hodge, chair of the city's Sport Council, said groups have been lining up to book time at the venue, which is due to start construction next month beside the Centennial Pavilion, at Poirier Street and Winslow Avenue.
"Many people thought this wouldn't be filled for five years," Hodge told The Tri-City News. "It goes to show you the demand is there."
Among those wanting time allocations are Coquitlam Metro-Ford and North Coquitlam United soccer clubs, Coquitlam Adanacs Lacrosse Club, Tri-City Minor Ball Hockey Association, Coquitlam Moody Minor Baseball Association, Coquitlam Minor Softball, Dogwood Pavilion and the Tri-City Female Ice Hockey Association.
"What's really interesting is we're seeing groups who don't typically use dry floor wanting time to train in their off season," Hodge said.
Allocations will be based on Coquitlam residency and the size of the club, he said.
There will also be community uses, such as the Coquitlam Farmers' Market, which will be displaced from the west Dogwood parking lot during construction.
On Monday, city council changed the design for the $3.9-million, unheated, fabric-covered facility; it will now:
be 12 m wider to accommodate four changing rooms and a public washroom;
have a sprinkler system;
have polished concrete flooring instead of a urethane surface;
and have metal cladding on the exterior rather than fencing, to prevent vandalism.
Hodge said the alterations won't affect the budget, which was approved last July. The project will be funded from the city's infrastructure reserve, with net operating costs estimated at $148,000 a year.
The structure is expected to open in late October or early November. A Port Moody company, Yellowridge Construction, will build it and tendering for site works (concrete, electrical, etc.) will happen in June.
Other Coquitlam news:
TAXES UP
Coquitlam taxes will go up by an average 2.42% for all property classes in July.
On Monday, city council gave three readings to the annual tax rates bylaw, which corresponds with the budget it passed last December. As in past years, Coun. Lou Sekora voted in opposition.
The rate increase means the owner of a home with the average assessed value of $567,000 will pay municipal tax and utility levies of about $2,909.
According to a city report, 2014 residential property values dropped overall by 1.8% while business property values rose by 1.4%.
POIRIER TRUCKS
A Coquitlam businessman wants the city to temporarily move its truck route one block so he can deliver concrete to Centennial secondary school.
On Monday, Jim Allard of Allard Contractors Ltd. spoke with the city's council-in-committee for an hour about allowing his trucks to travel on Poirier Street from Foster to Winslow avenues (via Mariner Way and Como Lake Avenue). Heavy loads are banned on that one-block section of Poirier because it is near recreation and seniors' centres, and has traffic calming measures.
Allard said the alternate route - via Mariner Way and Austin Avenue, and north on Poirier - costs time and money for his company, which is delivering 800 loads of concrete for the high school replacement project.
Council directed city engineers to work with Allard, who also asked for temporary use by his trucks of Guildford Way and Johnson Street to avoid delays related to Evergreen Line construction on Pinetree Way and Barnet Highway.
Allard told council he plans to meet with Amanda Farrell, Evergreen's project director, this week to talk about traffic safety concerns.
TAXES UP
Coquitlam taxes will go up by an average 2.42% for all property classes in July.
On Monday, city council gave three readings to the annual tax rates bylaw, which corresponds with the budget it passed last December. As in past years, Coun. Lou Sekora voted in opposition.
The rate increase means the owner of a home with the average assessed value of $567,000 will pay municipal tax and utility levies of about $2,909.
According to a city report, 2014 residential property values dropped overall by 1.8% while business property values rose by 1.4%.
POIRIER TRUCKS
A Coquitlam businessman wants the city to temporarily move its truck route one block so he can deliver concrete to Centennial secondary school.
On Monday, Jim Allard of Allard Contractors Ltd. spoke with the city's council-in-committee for an hour about allowing his trucks to travel on Poirier Street from Foster to Winslow avenues (via Mariner Way and Como Lake Avenue). Heavy loads are banned on that one-block section of Poirier because it is near recreation and seniors' centres, and has traffic calming measures.
Allard said the alternate route - via Mariner Way and Austin Avenue, and north on Poirier - costs time and money for his company, which is delivering 800 loads of concrete for the high school replacement project.
Council directed city engineers to work with Allard, who also asked for temporary use by his trucks of Guildford Way and Johnson Street to avoid delays related to Evergreen Line construction on Pinetree Way and Barnet Highway.
Allard told council he plans to meet with Amanda Farrell, Evergreen's project director, this week to talk about traffic safety concerns.
POIRIER TRUCKS
A Coquitlam businessman wants the city to temporarily move its truck route one block so he can deliver concrete to Centennial secondary school.
On Monday, Jim Allard of Allard Contractors Ltd. spoke with the city's council-in-committee for an hour about allowing his trucks to travel on Poirier Street from Foster to Winslow avenues (via Mariner Way and Como Lake Avenue). Heavy loads are banned on that one-block section of Poirier because it is near recreation and seniors' centres, and has traffic calming measures.
Allard said the alternate route - via Mariner Way and Austin Avenue, and north on Poirier - costs time and money for his company, which is delivering 800 loads of concrete for the high school replacement project.
Council directed city engineers to work with Allard, who also asked for temporary use by his trucks of Guildford Way and Johnson Street to avoid delays related to Evergreen Line construction on Pinetree Way and Barnet Highway.
Allard told council he plans to meet with Amanda Farrell, Evergreen's project director, this week to talk about traffic safety concerns.
