Morinville arena looking at major repairs


Work on the arena roof has been ongoing for the past two weeks. – Morinville News Photo

By Stephen Dafoe

Morinville – The Ray McDonald hockey arena could be getting as much as $300,000 in roof repairs after Council officially voted to fund the emergency repairs.

Morinville’s Director of Public Works, Claude Valcourt, had brought the matter of the roof’s poor condition to Council’s attention Oct. 9 and was given direction at that time to proceed with the repair work. Tuesday night’s vote was to formalize that previous directive.

The decades-old arena, originally an aircraft hanger transported from Namao, has experienced many leaks over the years; however, this past summer’s heavy rains resulted in garbage cans being used to collect the rain leaking through a separating roof.

Examination of the roof by AECOM showed the arena’s existing membrane roof is well past its usefulness and should be replaced. The engineer’s report showed the two areas with the worst leaks had significant depressions in the roofing material. Additionally, several roof blisters could be seen as well as considerable separation in several locations throughout the roof.

Administration believes a failure to repair the roof right away could result in safety hazards for those using the arena and the potential loss of usage in the arena.

Four quotations for repairs were received from two companies: C&M Roofing Co. and CCS Contracting Ltd. Both companies quoted on providing a new roof membrane for the facility as well as a partial roof membrane, the latter dealing with two areas measuring 200 feet by 10 feet. Repair costs ranged from a low of $81,914 for a partial membrane to $273,177 for a full membrane repair. The AECOM report suggested a total project budget of $142,000 for the partial repair, $300,000 for the full – both options having built-in allowances for what may be needed once the roof is torn up.

Council has opted for the full repair. Funding for the project will come from $230,000 set aside for two capital projects that have since been put on hold as well as another $70,000 from reserves if needed.

Repairs are anticipated to be completed by mid-November.

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4 Comments

  1. A few questions come to mind after reading this article:

    1. Does the Town have a maintenance/inspection schedule that reviews all buildings, particularly older and at risk infrastructure, on an annual basis or after violent rain and snow storms? When I read “has experienced many leaks over the years,” I can’t help but wonder if a few smaller repairs made in a timely manner may have saved some money now. This is not always the case, but I’m curious.

    2. Has a costing analysis been done to determine the remaining life of the facility? There is no point in putting $300,000 into a building now if in two years we will need to spend $2 or $3 million more to replace the structure. Over the past few years with various repairs (e.g. the refrigeration unit), I wonder if we are close to the “build a new one” stage. This is a basic thing in facilities management, so I would like to assume so.

    3. To expand on #2, what is the Town’s plan to replace the arena? Do we have a plan? I would hate for the Town to do the repairs or build a pool, then we have to go even deeper in the hole to replace the arena “unexpectedly” in a couple of years.

    In the past, I would have felt safe in assuming such things are being done by our normally capable Town staff. However, given the cost overruns with the Civic Plaza renovations, I’m don’t want to assume anything.

    My three cents.

    Brent

    • With respect to 3 – see our budget story. There is an item on the proposed budget next year to look at the scope of a replacement for the arena.

  2. The town council will probably give much need arena money to the church instead of looking after town business. The church is not town business. The Feds are already proposing funding. Our tax dollars should not go to any religous building historical or not.

    • Council approved the up-to-$300,000 in expenditures for the arena and approved where the funds would come from.

      Folks, before commenting please read the entire story.

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