Answering questions during the borough council's monthly meeting last Monday, Applebaum told Costa Fokoefs, an NDG resident who leads a citizens' group lobbying for the sports complex, that the borough has set aside a reserve of $4.3 million for the project, as well as $2 million from an infrastructure budget.

The City of Montreal has deposited an additional $3 million in infrastructure funding, bringing the total to date to $9.3 million. Applebaum maintains that discussions with Quebec officials, including the Liberal sports and recreation minister and four local MNAs, for provincial funding, are also proceeding well.

Depending on whether the borough is able to open and operate the nearly obsolete outdoor pool at Benny Park this summer, Applebaum said groundbreaking for the new sports complex would take place at the end of August when the pool closes.

"We're hoping within the next month or two maximum that we would have written confirmation from the minister's office and we'll be able to announce something. That's what we're hoping for."

Also during question period, Applebaum told Sharon Freedman, a Macdonald Avenue resident, that the borough plans to take advantage of a program made available by the provincial government to upgrade NDG's library services. While there are two small branches of the City of Montreal's central library in NDG, the area has been without a comprehensive library since the closing last year of the private Fraser-Hickson Library.

According to an announcement made by Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay in December, the Borough of Rosemont/Petite-Patrie has been slated to obtain funding first for its library services from the provincial program. "He also explained clearly that Côte des Neiges-NDG, and more particularly NDG, was in need of a library," said Applebaum.

"We are right now working with Centre City in order to get all of the criteria, to find out exactly how to deposit our request in order to either enlarge or to build a new library." Applebaum said NDG would be the second or third in line to receive the necessary funds to improve its libraries.

"We're hoping that over the next month or two, all the criteria will be cleared, they'll be presented to us, and we'll be able to start to prepare our documentation clearly in line with what the criteria are in order to receive the funds necessary."

Applebaum said that if the library project were to cost $10 million, the borough's share would be about $2.5 million. "I can assure that we're looking at that situation right now in order to have the necessary funds. We would like to see in 2008 an announcement of improved library services for NDG."