By John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
The Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula’s August 12 Council Meeting began with a Delegation from Facility Risk Solutions, the consultant MNBP had hired to evaluate the arena/community centre complex in Lion’s Head.
The consultant’s PowerPoint presentation appears in the Meeting Agenda, as does the 200-page report that underpins the presentation. Councillors complimented Facility Risk for the report’s comprehensiveness and attention to detail.
The arena complex consists of two halves: the dressing rooms and community centre, which were constructed in 1976 and the ice rink, which was built in 1984.
The methodology involved evaluating every individual element of the complex in terms of current condition, life expectancy and cost to repair or replace and then summarizing the predicted costs for each of the next 21 years.
The accompanying table summarizes those costs for the next ten years. Not included on this table is year 11 — 2034 — which has a cost in the $2.9 million range, owing to the fact that the ice rink half of the complex will turn 50 in 2034 and many elements of that facility have a 50-year life expectancy. Note that this table excludes items with a cost under $10,000 so the actual costs would probably be slightly higher.
The consultant noted — echoed by Council — that the facility is in very good shape considering its age and that many elements are expected to exceed their design life span. This reflects excellent maintenance by staff over the decades.
Total maintenance and capital expenditures over the years 2024-33 is predicted to be $5.37 million, although including 2034 drives that up to $8.25 million.
The report also includes a “Facility Replacement Cost” estimate of $15,914,000. (Note that site preparation at another location would add several million, but the same might well be true of improvements to the existing arena.)
The question the municipality must address is: do we want to spend $8.25 million over 11 years to repair an older building that we could replace for $15,914,000?
Councillor Todd Dowd made the case that the current situation is even worse than that. He pointed out that because of the inadequacy of the existing arena facility, we are considering investing $5 million to add better, accessible dressing rooms.
That would put the cost at more like $13,25 million (my calculation, not Councillor Dowd’s) to get 11 years out of a facility we could replace (with proper dressing rooms) for $15.9 million.
The consultant agreed with Councillor Dowd that it was time for MNBP to have “the conversation” about the arena complex. Facilities Manager Mark Coleman and CAO Peggy Van Mierlo-West will report back to Council in September.
Table: This is Table 2 out of the Facility Risk Solutions Report to MNBP Council. The Table reflects the projected annual costs of maintenance and capital replacements at the arena/community centre building in Lion’s Head. Note that it does not include items with a cost under $10,000. Note also that year 11 — 2034 — would have a projected cost of $2.9 million.
