ELORA – The estimated cost of renovating the Elora Community Centre has almost doubled since the township learned it had received federal and provincial funding to help them out and that means the project will be much less than had been anticipated.
Council learned at the committee of the whole meeting on April 19 that the original $5 million price tag has escalated to $9.8 million.
Manager of parks and facilities Matt Tucker told council the pandemic caused delays in getting the project started and now with substantial cost increases, the township asked the designers at RDH Architects Inc. to help them pare the project back to the essentials.
“There was a gut feeling that the $5 million was probably not enough now,” said Bob Goyeche, of RDHA.
“It seemed prudent to look at the original scope … I think we’ve landed on something that works and meets the majority of the requirements.”
Dan Herljevic explained the essentials include making the Elora Community Centre accessible, repairing the failed refrigeration system and floor of the ice rink, addressing the small change rooms, and improving the entrance and lobby space.
What he proposed was changing the entrance to remove the maze of doors, adding a raised viewing area in the lobby, turning the five change rooms into four larger spaces with accessible showers and washrooms, and reconfiguring the office area so it’s larger and easier to serve customers.
He proposed starting construction in March of 2023 with completion by December 2023.
There would be minimal change to the exterior of the building and no second rink.
An artist’s concept of the proposed new, larger, accessible change rooms at the Elora Community Centre. Screenshot from April 19 meeting.
But the Zamboni and refrigeration systems would be located in a place that would be serviceable for a second rink should one be added in the future.
This brings the total to $5.8 million and there was some talk that fundraising might be a possibility to help with the cost as this is still more than the original budget.
Councillor Kirk McElwain thought it would be better to add a second rink to the project up front as the township is growing and demand for ice time is high.
“I would rather do it right the first time than do it piecemeal,” he said.
“It makes more sense to borrow money for this rather than the operations centre.”
Tucker pointed out the 2018 Recreation Master Plan calls for a study on adding another ice pad in 2023 and Pat Newson, managing director of community services, said they want to push that out to 2025 to get a more accurate read of usage and demand.
“We’re coming out of COVID and the numbers are not accurate,” she said.
She also noted the federal and provincial grants were for specific things and that funding could be lost if they are not included in the renovation.
Council voted in favour of the pared down renovation with only Councillor Bob Foster opposed.
