The Town of Canmore has been holding a place in its capital budget for improvements to the Rec Centre after Elevation Place was developed, but it turns out that $5 million will be needed to fix one of the arena roofs instead.
Alex Kaleta Arena was built in 1983 and administration indicated that because the roof needs to be replaced, the structure itself will also need upgrading. Canmore’s five-year capital budget, however, includes $5 million of hoped for municipal sustainability initiative (MSI) funding from the province to go towards an overall upgrade of the recreation facility.
Chief administrative officer Lisa de Soto said there is no indication at this time whether or not the provincial government, under the NDP, will continue the MSI program or extend it as many municipalities have requested.
“The reality is that when that project was put on the books for $5 million it was anticipated to be an upgrade,” de Soto said. “If we wish to enhance the facilities at the Rec Centre, that would be in addition (to the $5 million roof replacement).”
Mayor John Borrowman said it is disappointing the original project to enhance the recreational offerings at the Rec Centre may be sidelined and expressed concern that further MSI funding may not be coming from the province.
“The bottom line is we have to do that (roof repair) work regardless of MSI,” he said.
Manager of facilities Stephen Hanus presented the facilities lifecycle study to council at the end of June. He said it is the first time the municipality has commissioned this type of report looking into the physical state of its buildings – it owns and operates 35, totalling over 360,000 square feet in space and valued at $150 million.
The buildings range from the historic, like the Northwest Mounted Police Barracks built in 1893, to the brand new, like the recently completed $39 million Elevation Place.
“We wanted to implement the first ever condition assessment of our buildings,” Hanus said. “This will give us the tools to move toward with a preventative maintenance program versus a reactive one … this is about asset protection because when you have $150 million in buildings, it is critical to ensure our assets are maintained.”
Newer buildings like Elevation Place were not included in the study, he added, but will be as administration expects to redo the work every five years.
Hanus said the inventory found that all buildings require some form of repair, although the good news is that none of the facilities are ranked as poor or in need of urgent work.
“We were pleased to recognize that very few were indicated to be in poor condition,” he said. “I think it is a great testament to the facilities department and staff that take care of our buildings.”
The work called for in the study is prioritized to make those projects that are related to building and safety codes first and secondary priority given to maintenance. Results will be incorporated into the capital budget over the summer.
After work at the Rec Centre, the maintenance plan sets out that $1.17 million in work is needed for the public works building, followed by $1.1 million for the Canmore Seniors Centre, $1 million for the Civic Centre and $1 million for the recycling depot at Elk Run.
