Things started falling apart about halfway through our annual Labour Day scramble up the North Gully of the Chief. Who knew that there had been a slide and that every few metres offered stupidly dangerous obstacles? But once we had committed, there really was no turning back.
"An adventure," one of our group posited, "is simply a journey gone wrong." Wise words, and they got me thinking, "If this is what an adventure is, what is an Adventure Centre?"
Council got to show off its shiny new bauble at the open house last Sunday, but never has a project been beset by more problems of optics than has our humble little tourist information booth along the highway.
From the get-go, the Adventure Centre has faced hurdles: the tenants on the original location didn't leave when evicted; our MP conspired against the release of federal funds and forced the municipality to buy a different piece of land; a pre-load on the land didn't work, forcing construction delays of three weeks; and questions were raised about the quality of the welding.In spite of these things, a look back on the media coverage leaves little doubt as to why there is a perception that this project has been problematic: municipal leaders set expectations so high, that the inevitable delays looked far worse than they really were.
The irrevocable opening deadline of March 31st came and went, and so did the May, July and August dates creating a perception that things had gone sideways.
There's no doubt that the building is stunning, and it will be a huge asset for the community-for its fast approaching $5 million dollar budget (including building, land, and other incidentals), it better be-but there are still nagging little details. Access is a problem. The original plan envisioned an exit running right into the parking lot, but highways has kyboshed that at least until the highway work is done through town in 2007, so visitors won't see the building until they're by it and will be forced to make a 3 km detour to get back to it.
There are also real questions about the costs of the building. The initial 2.2 million dollar budget was unrealistic, and now the Council is hoping for a corporate sponsor to shell out $2 million to make it cost neutral. There is also an ambitious forecast of operating revenues of approximately $700,000/year.
Only time will tell if these numbers are any more realistic than the original budget, but as one observer commented, "The Adventure Centre looks like the 'fly-in' fast-food joint from The Jetsons." Given its location along the highway, and the problems with four-wheel access, maybe we really are building for the future.
