SHUNIAH – Earlier this week, Shuniah Mayor Wendy Landry cut the ribbon to the new multi-purpose pavilion at MacGregor Recreation Centre.
“It’s so exciting. The pavilion has been in the works since 2019,” Landry said, adding that the facility is a great addition to Shuniah.
“When residents come up here and take a look, they’ll see just how great it really is.”
Shuniah’s new pavilion, which is 170-feet long, will be used year-round for a wide variety of activities, Landry said.
During the winter season there will be an ice-skating rink. Prior to the new pavilion, the rink had a base of concrete and the black tar would cause ice to melt quickly.
The new concrete base will keep the rink going a lot longer each year, Landry said.
When the weather warms up, the pavilion can be used for sports, recreation, yard sales and even weddings.
With the new pavilion, events can be held without the worry of weather, especially rain.
There is a lot of lighting in the pavilion as well as electrical and opportunities to plug in.
With Shuniah growing and the increase of people living year-round, the municipality contains a combination of larger families as well as seniors and an aging population. The new pavilion will be a spot to gather for all ages, Landry said
Paul Greenwood, CAO of Shuniah, said he thinks the pavilion will have a positive impact on residents.
It will just open it up for additional activities. There's a number of activities that residents have been looking to participate in and this facility will just help support those types of activities.
Greenwood said it took a lot of work to get the pavilion up and running.
“A lot of planning from staff, a lot of commitment required from council and probably one of the key pieces is getting the funding,” he said.
Shuniah received roughly $700,000 from NOHFC and around $500,000 from the federal gas tax. The municipality had about $100,000 in parks reserve and were fortunate to get some private funding from Hydro One and Transcanada Pipeline, Greenwood said.
There are still has a few loose ends to tie up with the project. Some minor electrical and the addition of bleachers for the skating rink, Greenwood said.
The Shuniah pavilion is now officially open. For upcoming news and events visit www.shuniah.org/news/.
