An announcement from the Province regarding funding for a new lodge for Rimbey could be just weeks away.
Mayor Rick Pankiw, councillors Matt Jaycox, Jack Webb and Einar Olsen, Ponoka County Councillor Nancy Hartford and Dennis Beesley, CEO of Bethany met with residents of Parkland Manor Friday to assure them funding for a new seniors’ complex looks promising.
“The funding for a new lodge is very close and we are sure we will have an announcement very shortly,” said Mayor Pankiw.
The mayor, however, emphasized a formal announcement about the funding needs to come from the government, not the Rimoka board.
“It is the government that holds the purse strings. It would be disrespectful for us to make an announcement about the exact level of funding without their permission.”
Rimoka board chairman Paul McLaughlin agreed.
“It’s so close,” he said. “We are definitely moving forward, but we are stewards of the project only and we respect the channels of communication. It is inevitable that the province will make the announcement, even though it is a team effort.
Ponoka County has made an offer to purchase land from developer Stan Cummings to be used by Rimoka housing to build a seniors’ lodge south of Highway 53.