The tender has been awarded for construction of the new Fundy Y building in Cornwallis.

The provincial branch of the YMCA has awarded the $600,000 contract for Phase 2 of the project to Roscoe Construction, and work is expected to begin this week, said Yvonne Smith, chief executive officer of the Fundy Y.

“At this point, we’re still at the letter-of-intent stage,” Smith said in an interview. “We have meetings this week and we should be able to proceed quickly after that.”

Phase 1, including demolition of parts of the former Lifeplex facility, was recently completed, making way for a new fitness centre, studios, a cross-training room, and improvements to the pool, lobby and community meeting space.

“We’re still aiming for mid-June completion and to have a July opening,” said Smith. “We plan to make it a vibrant fitness centre.”

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The province’s Department of Energy has approved a third Digby area tidal project to receive a special rate for its electricity.

The department approved Fundy Tidal’s 500 kilowatt project for Grand Passage between Long and Brier Islands this month for its community feed-in tariff or COMFIT program.

Under the COMFIT program, open only to community-based projects, the company can sell its electricity for the set rate of 65.2 cents per kilowatt hour.

Fundy Tidal received approval for projects in the Digby Gut and Petit Passage earlier this winter; and for another project in Cape Breton this month. They are still awaiting approval for a fifth and final project in Cape Breton.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Upper Clements - April 19, 2012

Today, Upper Clements Parks Society chairman David Brown announced that their new Adventure Park will open this year.

Brown says “the Board of Directors is very pleased to announce that our new Adventure Park will open in early June”, he added that “this new development will complement our existing Theme Park and build upon our mandate, as a non profit organization, to create more jobs and bring many more visitors to the region.”

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Friday the 13th was not an unlucky day in any way for the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens, who were recognized as one of the “5 North American Gardens Worth Travelling For”.

The Historic Gardens were honoured on April 13 at the Annual Canadian and International Garden Tourism Awards in Vancouver, BC. The Garden Tourism Awards are presented to organizations and individuals who have distinguished themselves in the development and promotion of the garden experience as a tourism attraction.

In the award notification, Michel Gauthier, Manager for the Canadian Garden Tourism Council writes, “It is a well-deserved acknowledgement of the quality of experience offered by Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens to tourists travelling for a garden experience and your leadership in the development of Garden Tourism in Canada.”

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By now, you have no doubt heard of the huge potential for businesses all across the province associated with this contract. We encourage any business even thinking about becoming part of this supply chain, whether individually or as part of a larger consortium submitting bids, to submit your company information right away, using this link. This will ensure you are provided with all related information as the company develops it. At this time, our agency is endeavouring to arrange a regional information session to further explain the "go-forward" process, and outline the basic requirements for doing business with Irving Shipbuilding Inc. If you see growth potential for your business here, please don't hesitate to contact Dan Harvey, at dharvey@annapolisdigby.com or by phone at 638-4009.

The old Lifeplex Wellness Centre here is about to undergo a transformation into the new Fundy Y.

That’s welcome news for a community that hasn’t seen much good news lately. Recreation users will be happy to hear it, but so will taxpayers in Annapolis County, who have been footing much of the bill for the failed former Lifeplex centre since it opened in 2006.

The facility, which cost $7.5 million to build and was operated by the Basin Wellness Society, a community group, closed in 2010 because of the growing costs to the municipality.

The county, which owns the building, had to borrow $2.5 million during construction because of a shortfall in expected funding. The cost to taxpayers for heat and lights alone was about $3,000 a month.

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Politicians and business people in southwestern Nova Scotia are hopeful last Wednesday’s ferry funding announcements will translate into support for a new vessel.

Premiers Darrell Dexter of Nova Scotia and David Alward of New Brunswick said they will continue funding the Digby-saint John ferry for another two years. Each pledged to spend up to $1 million per year until March, 2014.

In his press release, Dexter said both provinces will work with the federal government to find “a viable long-term solution beyond 2014.”

In 2010, the federal government announced $ 41.7 million in funding to keep the ferry running until 2014. Nova Scotia has provided $4 million in funding to the Digby- Saint John ferry service since 2006.

Digby’s mayor Ben Cleveland welcomed today’s news as recognition of the importance of the ferry, not only to the Digby region but to all of southwestern Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

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The Community of Bridgetown has been selected as the 2012 Model Volunteer Community of the Year by the Provincial Volunteer Week Awards Committee. This award is presented annually to a community that has shown support for volunteers, that has worked together as a community on a project or projects to enhance the lives of its members, and managed, through the support of volunteers, to make their community a better place to live.

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