by Lucie Roy
The first meeting of the Morinville Arena/Recreation Facility Project Steering Committee took place at the cultural centre Nov. 26 with 11 of the 12 community members appointed by Council in attendance.
Brian Bengert of Architecture Tkalcic Bengert made a schematic design presentation to the Committee with an overall site diagram and potential diagrams of two options Council have sought quotes for. Those options include combinations of an arena, field house, curling rink and a walking track.
“The schematics are a base starting point,” Bengert emphasized to the committee.
The Committee heard with the field house at approximately $6 million, the arena ice sheet at $10 to $11 million, and a walking track at $300,000 to $400,000, the cost is already at $16-$17 million for a 6859 m2 (73830 square foot) facility. The addition of a replacement curling facility could add $5 to $6 million and miscellaneous areas, including concession and common areas, could add another $1 million. With site development costs, the estimated total construction cost could easily be $25 to 28 million dollars.
Other discussion points included sharing the entrance and exit with Sturgeon County who are building to the east, questions on the number of dressing rooms, seating capacity, and an elevator for the building.
The Committee’s role is to make recommendations to Council. No motions or voting takes place at the meetings. CAO Debbie Oyarzun said all meeting minutes will be posted on the Town of Morinville website under the Building our Future Arena/Multi-Use Recreation Facility Project and people can also make their comments and concerns known on the Interactive Forum.
For the next meeting, the Committee members have requested an all-inclusive conceptual design of the facility to have an overall view. No date is yet set for that meeting.
Public members of the committee include Simon Boersma, Judy Carver, Joel Chevalier, Glen Cuming, Wayne Gatza, Joe Gosselin, Andre Houle, Gary Kearns, Dale Metcalf, Stacey Nordin, Tim Whitson, and Korien Sampson. Councillor Gord Putnam, Deputy Mayor Rob Ladouceur are the Council appointees, and Councillor Nicole Boutestein is on the committee as a resident. Putnam serves as chair, and Joe Gosselin serves as vice chair.
