Staffing shortage blamed for early Monday closure of Arthur community centre

ARTHUR – The Arthur and Area Community Centre will be closed to the public on Oct. 17 at 4:30pm and reopen the following morning (Oct. 18) at 8am.

According to an Oct. 17 press release and township operations director Matthew Aston, the closure is due to a shortage of staff, both recreation labourers and arena attendants, who act as facility operators, cleaning, opening/closing the centre, and operate the ice resurfacer.

“As with other industries across the province, this temporary closure is the result of staffing shortages and is a measure of last resort,” states the release.

“Despite exhaustive efforts, including seeking assistance from part-time team members, we have been unable to safely staff the [community centre] during this time-period.”

The closure means the centre will shut its doors 6.5 hours earlier than it typically would when closing at 11pm, depending on ice and hall rentals.

The centre normally opens at 8am.

Township operations director Matthew Aston said in an email that Monday’s closure “will impact users who have booked the centre for use of the ice or community halls.”