Labrador West rec centre to reopen as towns work on permanent financing deal

A deal has been reached by the towns of Labrador City and Wabush to reopen a shuttered recreation centre although Labrador City's mayor said it's just "baby steps" toward findinga permanent solution.

The Mike Adam Recreation Complex, which has been closed since January, was operated on a cost partnership between the two municipalities.

The decision to end that agreement at the beginning of the year,Labrador City Mayor Belinda Adams told CBC News at the time, was partly due to the Town of Wabush's failure to present a plan for self-sustainability.

But talks have continued since March with a deal to reopenannounced on Thursday, with Adams and Wabush Mayor Ron Barron callingit a good day for the people of Labrador West.

"Instead of looking at the negative, we look at the positive. And I see this as optimistic, 'cause we took an opportunity to make this happen," Adams said Thursday.

"It's baby steps, but we feel it's a great day in Labrador West to continue with growth and opportunity."

The deal is in place untilJune 1, with a commitment from both sides to continue to work on a permanent deal.

The town's finance and administration directors will continue to work on and review the proposed budgets to determine the appropriate cost split, Barron said,while the region's recreational department will now be managed by Labrador City,

Barron commended both towns on working together to get to a point where the centre can reopen.

"There's still a lot of work that has to be completed on how recreation is going to look in the future, and those details will be worked out in the coming months," he said.

"There are a lot of variables, and a lot of things got to happen here for this to happen. So I hope we can do it in that time."

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