Work has begun on the building of the new Community Centre for the village of Oakville.

President of the Oakville Community Club Eric DeLong is happy to see some shovels are in the ground.

"It's exciting to finally see some action there. It's been something that's been in the works for many years. Sometimes we weren't always sure if it was going to be going ahead," says DeLong. "We made a decision a number of years ago to start going ahead with it. We're finally starting to be able to see something from that. It is really exciting."

The contract for $4.4 million was awarded to LCL Construction with an expected completion date of May 2024. DeLong says this couldn't happen without the support of the community. The club is celebrating a $35,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Portage and District, which will go a long way.

"We had budgeted last fall with some other grants and donations. We were on track to be fully funded for the project, but with inflation, and importing a lot of materials from the U.S., and the Loonie depreciation lately, we've kind of fallen behind again and we need to raise some more money," says DeLong. "That money that CFPD gave us is going to be crucial for us, for sure."

DeLong adds they will need to fundraise, as the goal is to complete the project without any debt. He hopes the community will continue to support them.

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