TSL Construction has been awarded a $1.64-million contract to build a recreation centre at Marsh Lake.

'We are very excited,' Donna Larsen, vice-president of the Marsh Lake Community Society who served as president through much of the planning stage, said in an interview last week.

'Construction is starting; they started clearing trees a couple of days ago.'

Larsen said the building will provide a much-needed central facility with a gymnasium, some common rooms, kitchen area and hopefully a library in the future.

It's the wish of the community of some 600 to 800 area residents that it be opened full-time, and not just for special occasions, so residents can just drop in, use the gym or what have you, she explained.

Larsen said while there is a desire for a library, the community first needs to establish a library board before it can begin discussions with the Yukon government, though that is the plan.

'The idea is that it is a centre for the community that is active, and open, and not closed 90 per cent of the time.'

Funding for the project was announced last June among a list of community projects around the territory amounting to $12.5 million in federal and Yukon government money for the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.

For the Marsh Lake centre, each government will pay 50 per cent.

The original project budget was $1.62 million.

Eric Magnuson, director of the Yukon's community development branch, said an additional $208,000 is needed on top of the construction cost.

A request has been forwarded to Ottawa for approval of the extra money required, of which $104,000 would be covered by the federal government and $104,000 by the Yukon government.

Also out for tender currently is a new recreation and community centre for the Village of Mayo, budgeted at $5.9 million under the municipal infrastructure program. The deadline for bids is Sept. 29.

Larsen said planning for the Marsh Lake recreation centre took hold about five years ago when it became apparent there wasn't going to be anybody rebuilding the Marsh Lake Marina that was destroyed by fire in the late 1990s.

Through community surveys, land availability research and public meetings, the community put together the plan for the single-storey, 7,488-square-foot centre, she explained.

She said the condition that the Yukon government retain ownership of the land and building has its good and no so good points.

As the owner, the government will be responsible for covering the annual operation and maintenance costs. However, the community society will not be totally autonomous in making decisions about how the facility is managed, she pointed out.

Larsen said if the community, for instance, decides it would like to sell wine and beer on a part-time basis a couple of days a week, as was envisioned in the feasibility study to generate revenue for full-time staff and programming, it will need the government's approval.

The liquor licence, she suggested, could come under provisions for community clubs and members only.

Larsen said with the Marsh Lake community's desire to have an active and vibrant facility, there will need to be staffing of some sort.

Magnuson said having the government keeping ownership of the facility simplifies funding arrangements.

For community centres like the Mount Lorne facility, which is owned by the Mount Lorne community, the government typically has to assess the taxes and then prepare the paper work for an order-in-council to write off those taxes, Magnuson said.

He said there is also the exercise of working out the annual recreational grant to ensure the annual cost of operating and maintaining the community-owned facilities is accounted for in the grant.

'The reality is it is going to make it simpler for the recreation society and simpler for the government to manage this piece of infrastructure that is being held for the public good out there,' Magnuson said. 'When you look at these things, the net wash comes out the same but it makes it a lot simpler to manage.'

What sort of provisions will be made for the sale of alcohol will be more in line with special event licences than anything else, he explained.

Magnuson said the centre was never intended to take the place of the bar and restaurant services once available at the marina.

Project completion is scheduled for next spring.