CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE June 5, 2020
On Friday, several board members of the Villa James Shaw committee met in the Giant Tiger parking lot in Shawville to keep their distance while celebrating the signing of their contract with their architect.
Past President Albert Armstrong explained that by signing with the firm, Mercier Pfalzgraf, the project would move to its next phase, and fundraising would soon begin in earnest. He said that the architects plans for the senior’s home, which is planned to be constructed on rue Centre in Shawville, along with the engineer’s plans, would be presented to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), who would then determine the exact amount of funding they would allocate to the project.
“This will help us determine the actual cost of the project, the next step will be to enter into a contract with the engineers, between the engineers and the architect, they’ll develop the plans that we can submit, then they’ll determine the value of the project,” explained committee secretary Susan McLaughlin. “[The] CMHC will then determine the level of financing that we’ll need.”
Current President Ken Bernard said that in the interim, there was a lot of fundraising to do.
“We’re going to reach out to the public, if they want to contribute to the project, this is the time that we would appreciate them coming forward,” he said.
Bernard said the best way to donate would be to contact a member of the committee, who would determine the most efficient method for the donor. He added that they would be working on making electronic fund transfers available as well.
Armstrong said that the architects and engineers would give them more detailed drawings of the interior of the building, and added that they would need to raise tens of thousands of dollars to keep the project moving forward.
He said that they had several fundraising initiatives that would be rolled out in the coming weeks, and encouraged the public to support the project during this critical phase, a sentiment that the current president echoed.
“This project hasn’t stopped, this pandemic hasn’t slowed us down,” Bernard said. “[It’s been] five and a half years in the works. We’re all very happy to have reached this milestone.”
