ELORA – The township did not receive a provincial grant to help with upgrades to the multi-use pad at Bissell Park, so the contentious issue returned to council on Dec. 2.
Had the grant application been successful, the project would have included a new outdoor refrigerated multi-use surface, with mechanical and storage buildings, at a cost of $4 million.
The grant, from the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund, would have covered half the cost.
But without it, the project scope has to be reduced, said manager of buildings and property Kasey Beirnes.
He sought direction from council on how to proceed.
With a limited budget and a tricky location, given that the pad is constructed on a slope, Beirnes said there are really two options:
- replace like-for-like, meaning replace the pad, boards, lighting and basketball nets, and construct an accessible pathway; or
- all the above, plus add refrigeration lines and a recirculation pump, which would allow for a refrigerated ice surface if funding became available in the future.
When the matter came to council in October 2024, it was a close vote in favour of “option two” at the time: the refrigerated ice option.
Council also agreed to a $700,000 top-up to the existing funds for the project at that time.
But on Dec. 2, the old arguments for and against the refrigerated option reared their heads again.
Councillors Bronwynne Wilton and Barb Evoy spoke against it, noting refrigeration systems cause heat and that’s not good in light of climate change.
Councillor Lisa MacDonald wanted to forge ahead with the refrigerated option and councillor Jennifer Adams saw benefit in installing the basic infrastructure “so we can future-proof” the rink, she said.
Councillor Dennis Craddock said volunteers are becoming scarce for maintaining outdoor rinks and this rink would fall to staff to maintain once it’s refrigerated.
Beirnes said neither option would make the ice pad refrigerated. Option two would only lay the infrastructure for future refrigeration and option one would likely mean the pad would never be refrigerated.
In the meantime, the pad could be used all the ways it is currently, including volunteers flooding the pad for winter skating when weather allows.
Beirnes was seeking permission to engage a consultant to complete detailed engineering design and permitting, to have the project ready to go to tender in the spring.
After paying the consultant, there is $1,002,805 set aside for the project.
Option one is expected to cost $660,000 and option two would cost $990,000, though costs for both scenarios would be fine tuned and brought up to date by the consultant.
In the end, council approved the recommendation to hire a consultant to cost out both options and return to council for a final decision.
