Wasaga arena at the end of its life Wasaga Beach council is faced with a decision to spend money to extend the life of Wasaga Stars Arena or focus on building a new facility. It comes as no surprise to anyone that a recent assessment of Wasaga Stars Arena has determined that the facility is starting to show its age. “The Wasaga Stars Arena is near or at the end of its useful life as a full-service arena. The effective lifespan of this facility could be six to seven years and upwards of 10 years if annual upkeep and maintenance continues at its current pace,” reported engineer Dan Barill and architect Guy Bellehumeur in a structural and building assessment and audit of the building, presented to council members on Oct. 15. The report pegs the cost of building a new 41,100 square foot arena that would accommodate 700-800 people, presumably at a new location, at just over $7-million. The municipality has included the construction of a new arena in its financial forecast, planning for a $7.2-million expenditure in 2020. A 2012 parks, facilities and recreation master plan recommended the town consider building a multiuse recreation complex to replace the arena, possibly at the Sports Park. In the meantime, council is faced with a decision to leave the 40-year-old Wasaga Stars Arena as is, or do some work on the building to increase its lifespan. The experts say the town could spend just under $800,000 and get another 15 or so years out of the facility or do no work and maybe get 10 more years out of it. Barill said the arena is structurally sound but has two major deficiencies that should be addressed immediately. The arena’s wooden support columns that are exposed to the elements on the north and south side of the building have significant rot, which will affect the load bearing capacity of the main building, and the roof framing on the vestibule at the front of the arena is not capable of bearing the weight of the rooftop HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) units and the added weight from snow. “Significant roof leaks have been observed in this roof. Complete removal/demolition and reconstruction of the main entry vestibule is strongly recommended,” reported Barill. Manager of parks and facilities Gerry Reinders said he has included the cost of the work in the 2014 budget, which is under council consideration. He also recommends the corroded metal roof truss components be cleaned and coated with a rust inhibiting paint, that the light surface corrosion on the metal interior roof be monitored, the fire exits from the second floor banquet facility be upgraded and that there should be proper separation from the refrigeration room. “There is a gas proofing safety issue with this room. There is no rated interior vestibule separating the refrigeration room from the Olympia (ice cleaner) room space. There is not enough physical space to accommodate the code-mandate vestibule,” states the report. The report also presents an option of changing the use of the arena to another type of facility. For just over $2-million the facility could be upgraded and used for some other type of recreation complex, a public work building or some other municipal facility. Once the use of the building changes, Bellehumeur explained, the building would be subject to current building and fire codes, driving up the cost. He said the building is “not unsafe, it’s just old and tired”. Because it was built in 1973, the arena doesn’t meet today’s building standards but has been grandfathered, said Bellehumeur. A number of accessibility issues were also identified in the report. A full service elevator may be required under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which is still in draft form. An audit of the recreation hall and cabins on the arena property was also undertaken and the authors of the report found that the buildings are in good condition simcoe/news-story/4163744-wasaga-arena-at-the-end-of-its-life/?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_campaign=hootsuite
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 22:35:15 +0000
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