To the editor:
Re: "$$ for seniors centre," Central Park - April 17.
The $1.3 million that the Liberals gave to the City of Vancouver for the long awaited seniors centre in South Vancouver may be worse than useless. The cost estimate for the centre three years ago was $500 per square foot. Labour and materials have not decreased and we now estimate costs between $7.5 and $8 million. Based on a 15-year campaign by seniors in South Vancouver, the city committed $2.5 million towards the centre's construction as long as it is matched by the province and the federal governments.
The $1.3 million province contribution, even if matched by the feds, will leave the funding $2.4 to $2.9 million short, a recipe for yet another lengthy delay. I am calling on the provincial government to increase its funding to an acceptable level. There are seven seniors centres on the West Side with none on the East Side. Keith Jacobson, Southeast Vancouver Seniors Centre Society
