A full house attended Salmon Arm council chambers to discuss the fate of the SASCU Indoor Memorial Sports Complex that has been deemed structurally unsafe.
The doors of the 67-year-old arena were closed indefinitely on Dec. 11 last year after a preliminary structural assessment revealed it didn't have the structural capacity to support the snow load.
After a wave of backlash from user groups, council looked at options, and presented four at an open house on Wednesday, June 19, to get input from the community.
"Council's here to listen," Mayor Alan Harrison said in opening. "We have made no decisions around the Memorial Arena, we want to hear from the community."
The options up for discussion included demolishing the facility and converting the area to green space for an estimated $1 million, upgrade it for year-round use at $6.8M, replace with a similar structure for $7.6M or replace with an upgraded building for $9.1M.
One resident, however, offered a fifth option. Dan Gunn gave a presentation on a new build on the existing property and the neighbouring city-owned lot, that would be an upgraded indoor-soccer facility that would include pickleball courts, a running track and potentially a boardroom to hold meetings. He'd already approached BC Steel Ltd. and drafted a significantly larger, 50,000 square-foot building that would cost around $85/sq.ft. The estimated total of that preliminary plan would be about $5M for the base building and playing surfaces, with a proposed additional structure another $1.5M.
To help fund it, Gunn suggested increased rental fees, and pointed out that while Salmon Arm is currently at $40 to 80 an hour, Vernon is charging $100 to 200 depending on peak time.
"We've come up with a plan that, around the $6-6.5 million mark, the revenues based on the upgraded or rescheduled fees should almost pay for itself," he said. "User groups should be responsible for paying for the facilities they have."
He added, however, that grants and fundraising opportunities could also be explored.
The proposal piqued the interest of the council members in attendance, and asked that the presentation be submitted for closer inspection and consideration.
“The work you’ve done is extremely impressive. And I do know 20 years ago when we built twin sheet arena for way less than anybody in probably Canada, it was because of community and people like you, and companies getting involved," Coun. Kevin Flynn commented. "What you’re talking about is really exciting.”
While he did agree fees are currently too low, Flynn add here's always a lot of "furor" when they're raised.
Coun. Tim Lavery also suggested possibly implementing differential pricing, with local taxpayers paying a lower rate that out-of-town users, and asked for feedback on that.
With a second chance for the public to speak, some pointed out the negative impact the loss of the facility could have on the community.
"I think a decision like this is not something that is done lightly; however, we keep talking about the cost...” Shawn Birch said. “And I understand that part, but I don’t think it’s highlighted enough to understand what it costs not to have something like this.”
Similarly, Shuswap Youth Soccer Association operations manager Chad Forman said it could also result in a lack of programming –which attracts young families to the city.
“We have some amazing recreational leaders in our town running all these awesome programs,” he said. “When we lose facilities... when you kill those programs, they don’t just come back.”
As there was still much discussion needed and council was just there to listen, no decisions were made at the meeting, and the matter will come back to council for further exploration.
“I have to say right now is my mind isn’t made up on this, but I think what I’ve heard tonight is a good start,” Lavery said. “For me, there’ll be many more questions. This is an ongoing conversation.”
