The members of the Ballina electoral area committee this week gave their unanimous approval to the council to bring a motion before the next full meeting of Mayo County Council to approve a lease between the local authority and Ballina Arts Centre Ltd for the new arts centre in the town.
“The construction phase of the project is coming to a conclusion in the near future,” director of services Paddy Mahon told the meeting. “We will have to bring this before the full council to get their approval anyway, but we just want to let the members here have their say on it.”
Fianna Fáil Cllr Annie May Reape proposed the item. “I’m delighted that we have got to this stage,” she said. “I’ve been involved in the fundraising for this centre for a very long time. It will be a great facility for the town and surrounding areas. People might not know what the facility will be like inside now, but when they see it they will be amazed by what has been done.”
Cllr Francis McAndrew seconded the motion. “This is going to be a really great day for Ballina when this facility is open, there has been a lot of work done by people to fund-raise for this theatre and we still have a lot of work to do on this front,” he said.
Independent councillor Gerry Ginty was also full throated in his support for the project and the image of Ballina it presents. “This is the positive side of Ballina, a lot of people would like to put down the town. But this is the image of the town as the progressive town that it is that everyone should see. Ballina will be rightly proud of this centre when it is opened.” Cllr Michelle Mulherin, who is the chairperson of the fundraising committee, welcomed the news that the centre was progressing as well as it is. But she also said there was still a large amount of work to be done on the fundraising front. “We have had great support from people all over the town, with small and large amounts being donated, there is no amount too small as we need to meet our part of the contribution to the project. We need to keep the funds coming in to ensure that the centre will be kitted out properly and won’t be just a shell of a building.”
Mr Mahon told the members that the local contribution to the scheme was a percentage of the overall cost of the project and with works coming to a conclusion very shortly, the exact amount would be known in the coming weeks. Mr Mahon also proposed that the electoral area committee host their next meeting, which is due to be held in March, to which the members agreed.
