The Kimberley Gymnastics Club is looking forward to a new facility being built on the site of the old one which was destroyed by an arsonist in December of 2021.
The group is in full fundraising mode to refurbish the building and potentially, add a further 500 square feet of space to the new building.
It’s a complicated situation. The city owns the building itself but insurance will only pay to erect the bare-bones new structure. The club owned all the contents and equipment, which is insured, but fundraising will have to be done to replace all of it.
Donna Andrews is the manager/administrator for the club, and she says while the club has some plans, there are really too many unknowns at the moment to put a price tag on them.
They will hopefully know more, she says, once the insurance company has chosen a contractor for the rebuild. She hopes that may happen in April.
“We are hoping to add an extra 500 square feet to the building,” she said. “The lot is big enough for that. That would give us a full floor, a vault run, more room for the Crickets (the daycare program) and bleachers.”
She said they would love to have more, but realistically, with rising building costs, 500 square feet would give them what they need. And giving fluctuating construction costs, it’s difficult to put an exact dollar figure on how much the extra square footage would cost.
“There are lots of details to work out,” she said.
In the meantime, fundraising is underway. The club has raised $68,000 so far, a large portion of that being a $30,000 donation from the former Kimberley Old Time Accordion Championships Society.
But it’s not just more square footage for which funds are needed.
The club is responsible for replacing the equipment, and they were insured for $200,000. However to replace absolutely everything, Andrews estimates it could be up to $450,000.
But that would be to replace everything with brand new equipment, which she says they don’t necessarily have to do.
Other clubs from across B.C. and Alberta have been reaching out to Kimberley Gymnastics, offering used equipment.
“To run a quality program, we probably need about $250,000,” she said. “We would make it work. Some things have to be new, but not everything.”
The club could also fundraise over time to add more equipment.
There are some granting opportunities out there — Columbia Basin Trust has indicated they would support them, especially since they provide daycare. But grant opportunities are somewhat thin on the ground, given COVID and the fires and floods in recent years.
It’s all going to be a lengthy process, and Andrews says that even if a contractor is found in April, and ground is broken in 2022, it still will likely be 2023 before they are up and running.
In the meantime, if you’d like to make a donation to Kimberley Gymnastics please check out their Facebook page or https://www.kimberleygymnastics.com/ to find the best method to make your donation.
READ: Kimberley Gymnastics Society begins looking at how to rebuild after devastating fire
READ: Kimberley RCMP arrest and charge suspect for arson at Kimberley Gymnastics Club
carolyn.grant@kimberleybulletin.com
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