Fort Smith examines arena options
Midlife retrofit might be possibility at fire-damaged arena in Fort Smith
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, February 10, 2014
THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
It is possible that a midlife retrofit might take place at Fort Smith Centennial Arena, in addition to repairs because of a fire in May of last year.
In September, Jeff Perry, an employee of the Town of Fort Smith, used a flashlight to point out the fire-affected section of Centennial Arena. - NNSL file photo |
"It is being considered," said Mayor Brad Brake, although he said no decision has yet been made.
"We're looking at all contingencies for the facility," he explained. "Do we need to do a midlife retrofit? If we put some more money into it, can we extend the life? Can we lower costs? Can we make it a much better facility than it already is?"
Brake said the town had planned to do a structural and engineering assessment of the building this year to determine its life expectancy.
"Now, the engineer that came in and reviewed the building as a result of the fire came back to us and said, 'Look, it's a 75-year building,'" said the mayor, noting the arena is 46 years old.
"The building is in quite good shape for a building of its age. That's what we were told."
Emphasizing he is just speculating, Brake said a retrofit could possibility involve such things as another type of roofing as opposed to shingles, upgraded lighting, extra insulation in certain areas, and work on the ice plant.
"If we got another good 30 years with spending some money to do a retrofit to make improvements to it, then why not do it?" he said, although he realizes some people would like to see a new arena built.
Brake said arena user groups would be consulted before any decision is made on a retrofit.
Plus, the mayor said any extra work shouldn't delay the opening of the arena in October, when repairs from the fire are expected to be completed.
Some additional work might be able to be done this summer, if it can be tied to, and not interfere, with repairing the fire damage, but a full retrofit would take longer than this summer.
Jessica Cox, chair of the Fort Smith Recreation Advisory Board, is encouraged to hear that the mayor is talking about the future of the arena, not only making repairs to the fire damage.
"It's encouraging," she said. "I would say the consensus among arena user groups in the community is that repairing the arena and returning it to the way it was before the fire is the minimum that should be done, and that we are, as the recreation advisory board, encouraging the mayor and council to consider what the next steps are beyond those repairs."
Cox said the community needs to have a discussion about what might be a multimillion-dollar renovation or investing in building a new facility near the Rec Centre, an idea which had been in previous recreation plans.
She noted the main repairs of the fire damage are scheduled to start April 1, the day after the arena closes for the season March 31.
At its Jan. 27 meeting, the recreation board decided to write a letter to mayor and council requesting a public forum in May or June to discuss the town's next step for the arena.
Cox said the board's understanding is that work beyond repairing fire damage would likely be done separately in subsequent summers.
Brake said the town is close to awarding a contract for work in the red zone, which is the area directly affected by the fire.
Interested companies met with the town before Christmas, but only one, CAB Construction, submitted a proposal to do the work.
"It will start as soon as our season shuts down for the summer," said Brake, adding the hope is that the arena will be back to normal by October.
Repairs to the arena will cost between $800,000 and $1.2 million, and are being covered by insurance. There is also a separate pool of $250,000 in insurance money for code upgrades outside the fire-damaged area.
The May 13 fire damaged or destroyed the arena's public washrooms, a change room, a First Aid room, a boiler room, and a section of the stands.
The arena was reopened in November under a temporary arrangement involving two trailers just outside an entrance - one containing washrooms and the other change rooms.
