SUNDRE – Provided Mountain View County council approves a portion amounting to a little more than half of the $240,000 required to upgrade the Sundre Arena, the multi-faceted project that involves work throughout the facility is expected to go ahead.
Chris Albert, Sundre’s director of corporate services and acting CAO for the May 12 regular council meeting, said the request for decision stemmed from conversations with their counterparts from the county that has a policy for offering funding support for capital projects.
Per background information outlined in council’s agenda package, the town’s 10-year capital plan for the Sundre Arena includes in 2025 an approved compressor overhaul and valve replacement project.
Previously, the municipality had in 2020 commissioned a professional building envelope study for the arena to identify improvements needed to keep the facility functional for the next 10 to 15 years. Although several upgrades have in recent years already been completed, there remains some unfinished recommended work.
Sundre’s administration has been in contact with Mountain View County about the possibility of accessing capital funding through the county’s Policy #8006.
“Access to this funding would require a contribution from the town equal to 44 per cent of the project costs,” said Albert.
The projects prioritized for this year encompass four in-scope areas and would include the compressor overhaul, plant room heaters, bleacher heating, concession grill, concession hood fan, shower floor replacement and all floor matting replacement. The total estimated cost for the identified projects is $240,000 with an anticipated contribution from the town of $115,000, he said.
Completing the requested projects would be contingent upon receiving the full anticipated contribution from Mountain View County in the amount of at least $125,000. The item was expected to be brought before county council at its May 21 meeting, he said.
While the town was hoping for a contribution of $134,400, the county’s maximum as per its policy is $125,000, he said.
“We’ve kind of got our fingers crossed maybe they’ll approve the $134,000,” he said. “But more than likely we’re figuring a maximum of $125,000.”
If the town does not receive funding in full or any at all, another discussion will be come back to council based on the community services department’s recommendations on how to potentially proceed, he said.
Coun. Chris Vardas moved the recommended motion and said the investment is entirely justified considering how much more the arena is now being used every season ever since the decision to prepare the ice earlier.
Coun. Owen Petersen asked how much has been spent on the arena in recent years.
“Above and beyond our operating money, how much money has this council put into that arena over the past two or three years,” he asked.
Providing a breakdown dating back six years, Albert said a Zamboni was purchased in 2019 at a cost of a bit more than $72,000, the arena’s ice plant and surrounding building was completely redone in 2020 at a cost of more than $715,000, the facility’s dehumidifier was installed in 2023 for more than $93,000, and the emergency exit doors were repaired last year at a cost of $13,000-plus.
“In the last five years, the town has spent just over $894,000 on the arena itself,” he said.
“In addition to that, in 2023 we did also build the permanent outdoor rink at cost of just over $373,000.”
Petersen said the amount invested on the arena and outdoor rink demonstrates “just how committed we are to sports on ice in Sundre.
“I hope that the county gets involved and I hope that all of the county residents who use the arena will show up to that meeting and encourage the county councillors to contribute to this much-needed work,” he added.
Mayor Richard Warnock thanked administration for the legwork involved in coordinating with the county’s staff, and added he would like to find additional funding opportunities through the county’s policy on other town facilities that could use some work.
Council unanimously carried a motion approving the project contingent on the county’s contribution.
The work as outlined in the agenda package is broken down into four scopes.
The arena compressor overhaul to prevent potential breakdowns is estimated at $25,000.
The arena heating, which includes the addition of heaters in the plant room to prevent pipes from freezing and the furnace for the mechanical room at an estimated cost of $20,000, as well as heaters for the stands to allow for uniform heating in the bleachers for $45,000.
The concession stand’s grill to address safety concerns that were raised by installing stainless steel wall panels for $20,000 as well as replacing the outdated make up air unit for the kitchen hood at a cost of $60,000.
And finally the flooring throughout the facility, including replacing shower floors to provide proper drainage and prevent cross contamination of water between shower units for $30,000 as well as replace all matting in the building including the changerooms, hallways and player benches.
In response to a follow-up question about what the future plan for the facility is looking ahead to the end of its expected lifespan in 10 to 15 years, Albert said, “The envelope study that was done does indicate that the structure itself is sound and the recommendations centred around maintaining the functionality.
“As for the future plans for what comes after, we have a placeholder in 2034 of the current 10-year capital plan but that is of course subject to change.”
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