The decision to close Elliot Lake’s Centennial arena for an undetermined time has had ice users – including minor hockey, the skating club and the city’s Junior A Vikings hockey club – scrambling to find ice time outside the community.
That was one of the issues that brought about 100 residents to a town hall meeting Thursday evening to discuss the closure and fate of the aging structure, along with steps that will have to be taken to ensure Elliot Lake has a facility moving forward. The arena closing was announced following a report by Wood Research and Development Canada (WDR) from an inspection on September 11 that questioned the safety of the structure.
Acting Director of Public Works Bill Goulding was joined by Acting Mayor Andrew Wannan and Recreation Director Kari Kluke on a panel to talk about the arena and answer questions from those in attendance.
Wannan told those at the meeting and those watching a live-stream that council wants to obtain as much information on the arena’s structural state to determine whether it can be restored or if it will need to be demolished to make room for a new arena. Earlier this week, council decided to spend some $300,000 to shore up the arena’s wooden support beams and conduct ongoing monitoring to mitigate a potential collapse. Council is also waiting for a more in-depth inspection to determine the viability of the building.
Wannan acknowledged the hardships faced by skaters and their parents, who now have to travel to Blind River and Massey for practices and games.
Goulding presented a short history on what led to the current position the city faces with decaying structures, which includes some $3 million in work to reopen the city swimming pool and $1.5 million to turn the old Lake Theatre movie building into an arts centre.
The roof collapse in February 2019 of the civic centre building forced the city to inspect all municipally-owned buildings. At that time an inspection of the arena found deteriorating conditions with the wood components that held the building up. Structural repairs were done in 2019 and an engineering report stated the arena had a possible lifespan of five years.
WDR’s inspection report found continuing deterioration of the building structure, which forced the immediate arena closure. The same company will be doing the more detailed inspection with results possible by November.
Goulding said council relies on detailed reporting of its facilities to make any decisions on how problems can be resolved and for that reason the public is not often notified. The arena closure at the start of the winter ice season was a coincidence largely due to when WDR was available to conduct an inspection.
“When WDR was able to come and do the research, what we learned was concerning to say the least,” Goulding said.
“The arena was a shock,” Wannan said.
The lack of addressing infrastructure replacement is based on a lack of revenue it gets each year through taxes.
A financial study of Elliot Lake in 2011 found the city could not afford to maintain a swimming pool, a transit system or arena, amenities residents expect and enjoy.
“The core issue with the arena is that it's old and it needs constant maintenance and repair to be serviced,” Goulding said, referring to a loss the city has annually on the operation of the building and the limited money ($40,000) expected for maintenance of the building falling short of what is really needed.
The city would also have to juggle areas where it spends money to build a new arena with an estimated price tag of $20 million.
A member of the skate club suggested the city create a third outdoor rink to prevent skating groups from having to rent ice time in other communities at an additional cost to users and their organizations. Wannan said creating a third rink is unlikely due to costs. He did not commit council to assisting the same organizations with funding to minimize their additional expenses.
In the end, Wannan did assure residents that council will keep them informed of the findings of the detailed inspection when it is done.