THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Residents of Fort Smith will go to the polls next month to vote on further renovations on the Centennial Arena.

Fort Smith Mayor Brad Brake is confident residents will approve borrowing $4 million for arena renovations in upcoming referendum. - NNSL file photo

The town has set the vote for Nov. 17 and it will determine whether the town can borrow $4 million to help pay for further fixes for the arena, which was damaged by fire in May of last year. There will be an advance poll at a date to be determined.

Mayor Brad Brake explained the date was chosen partly so town residents could see the arena in operation this year before voting on whether to allow the municipality to borrow the funds.

The target for the ice being ready is the first week of November, said Brake.

"We are going to do two days of tours before the vote," he said. "We're going to set up two public tours, so people can come along and have a look at it and see what's going on."

That will give town residents a chance to discuss what the plans are for the arena.

"It's not going to be obviously fully completed," Brake said. "We're going to be running the same as we did last year in regards to using the outside washroom, the outside change room and then just the ice surface. It should be a little warmer in there considering we've got eight inches of new insulation on the building."

There will also be a public meeting on the referendum leading up to the vote.

Renovations are expected to continue into next year.

Repairs to the fire damage and some code upgrades totalled $1.3 million, with $1 million coming from insurance and the rest from the town. Temporary facilities were also covered with $250,000 from insurance and $168,000 provided by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs in autumn 2013.

Town councillors then decided to do additional renovations to the facility totalling $6.85 million. Of that amount, $1 million is coming from the town's recreation infrastructure reserves and $1.85 million from capital project funding.

The town is proposing that the balance of $4 million be financed by a debenture, which is a medium-to-long-term bond.

An existing $4 million debenture for the swimming pool is to be paid off by February of 2015. If approved by voters, it would be renewed for the arena.

Brake is confident residents will approve the debenture in the referendum, noting it would not involve any increase in municipal taxes.

The mayor noted some people may have wanted a new arena, but that might have cost up to $20 million, which would have been well above the town's borrowing limit of $12 million.

If the debenture fails to get approval from voters, the town still has the resources to complete the work that has already begun.

"We do have the capability to complete the contract," said Brake. "So that's why the contract has been let. That's why we're doing it. What happens is, if the plebiscite does not go through, we just have to manage our money a lot more closely. There may be a slight tax increase due to it."

The mayor said the target for completion of the renovations is before the ice goes in the arena in the fall of 2015.

The lifespan of the 46-year-old arena would be extended by at least 35 years.

The renovations include additional dressing rooms, a heated viewing area and mezzanine, an elevator to an upper level, new bleachers, new player benches, changes to the ice plant, additional storage, changes to the Zamboni room, insulation, siding, a metal roof, removable boards, acoustic panels, improvements to the public address system, a ticket booth, a video security system, LED lighting and more.