The Class of 2013 will get a chance to inaugurate the city's newest facility.
Council has approved a request from the New Westminster Secondary School dry grad committee to hold its drug-and-alcohol free celebration at the Queensborough Community Center.
Council approved a request to waive the rental fee for the facility, which has been undergoing an expansion and renovation.
"It is a practice we have supported in the past," said Dean Gibson, the city's director of parks, culture and recreation.
Gibson said the students would have use of the whole building during their celebrations.
While some people might be "a little apprehensive" about allowing people of that age to use the space, he said the dry grad celebrations are well supervised.
Mayor Wayne Wright suggested the graduates' parents should be invited to attend - not for the entire evening, but for a short time so that they can view the newly expanded facility.
In a letter to city council, 2013 dry grad committee chair Chris Walton said the group will try to use local businesses for the celebration wherever possible.
Because this year's dry grad committee wasn't formed until February, it's missed several months of fundraising opportunities and missed the city's community grant deadline.
