The City of Thompson has asked Vale to make a $1 million contribution toward the final phase of completing the refurbished 2,743-square metre Thompson Regional Community Centre (TRCC).

The request was made June 24 to Vale through Gary Ceppetelli, director of planning and community development, to help close the $3.26 million funding gap between $8.74 million and the $12 million needed for the final phase of construction.

“We don't have any comment to make at this time.  These are discussions between our company and the City,” said David Markham, former manager of corporate affairs for Vale’s Manitoba Operations here, in one his last public statements on behalf of the company before moving onto work for Suncor in Alberta, said July 15.

Before arriving here less than three years ago from Winnipeg in October 2007, Markham served as the executive vice-president for the Mining Association of Manitoba, an organization that represents the lobbying interests of the mining industry in the province.

Vale donated $1.5 million to the initial phase of the Thompson Regional Community Centre project four years ago in August 2006, coinciding with the Inco’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Thompson.

Randy Patrick, city manager, said July 14 the City of Thompson is going to be asking local corporations to pony up that $3.26 million in a narrow window between the end of June and early fall. Without millions more, the final phase of the project will likely have to be scaled down to a smaller option council opted not to go with originally, he said.

City council has approved a resolution to proceed with the final phase of the $12-million Thompson Regional Community Centre (TRCC) subject to financing.

Council had to choose between going ahead with the larger 2,743-square metre “footprint” or a smaller of 2,203- square metre and project at an estimated cost of $9 million, Ceppetelli noted in a June 2 report to council and Patrick.

Both estimates are much smaller than the $22-million project, as it was first envisioned, several years ago before being scaled back substantially, including scrapping a proposed field house and attachment to the Burntwood Curling Club.

The city has secured $8.742 million from Build Canada for, which includes the city's one-third contribution.

On May 25, council passed a resolution allowing administration to proceed to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for the purposes of hiring a construction manager for the design development phase to “assist in refining the project from the perspective of “cost, content and schedule.”

The resolution approving the larger of the two proposed project size was passed June 7.

The provincial and federal governments announced May 1, 2009 that Thompson would be receiving $5.828 million towards the completion of the Thompson Regional Community Centre as part of $116 million in spending for rural and Northern Manitoba from the Building Canada Fund - Communities Component. The funding is provided through an equal cost-sharing agreement with the City of Thompson, the province and the federal government each providing one-third of the project cost. The federal and provincial funding was provided on the condition that construction must begin within two years.

Construction was set to begin this summer some time after July 1, but that timetable has now been moved back.