A plan to repair and expand the Dickson Jubilee Recreation Centre is set to go ahead after Red Deer County councillors agreed to partner with the Spruce View and District Agricultural Society on the project.Council voted 6-1 to make a total financial commitment of $610,400 to the project ñ $50,400 from this year's budget for the design, tendering and construction supervision of the expansion and $560,000 in the 2012 capital budget for the construction. County council had already approved $500,000 in this year's budget for repairs to the arena. Any unused funds would be carried forward into 2012.The Spruce View and District Agricultural Society will be responsible for committing between $264,440 and $304,590 for immediate repairs to the arena, and another $30,000 to $50,000 for the reconfiguration of the concession stands necessitated by the expansion.Jo-Ann Symington, community services manager, said while an assessment report found the facility to be in fairly good shape, there were a number of architectural issues that needed to be addressed. These include damage to the insulation in the rink roof and public washrooms that are too small to be made handicap-accessible and that no longer meet current code in terms of the number of fixtures.ìThere's limited space in the existing facility to upgrade these washrooms,î she told council.The 1,960-sq. ft. expansion to the arena's south side will include new public washrooms; two new dressing rooms, including one dedicated specifically for women's use; and a new corridor to access the dressing rooms. The current washrooms will be renovated for future use.Coun. Richard Lorenz made the motion to approve the funding.Coun. David Hoar said it was interesting that the Dickson repairs appeared immediately after the Delburne spray park expansion on the agenda, noting that the county was able to use $83,333 in contributions to leverage a $250,000 grant for the arena repairs in that community.While saying he agreed that the arena was in need of repairs, Coun. Philip Massier raised concerns with the cost.ìWe approved half a million dollars and all of a sudden it's $610,000 and we haven't put a shovel in the dirt yet,î he said. ìIf we start getting into cost overruns, where does it balloon to?îMassier suggested capping the funding at $500,000 with a requirement that the Spruce View Ag Society raise any additional funds.Mayor Jim Wood said the community has already indicated it is ready to make a significant contribution to the project.ìIt looks like there's a desire within this community to see this particular project take place,î he said.Coun. Don Nesbitt said he was comfortable moving forward with the project as long as the county continued to do its due diligence.ìI believe our facilities have to be kept up to standards,î he said. ìNeglecting them and letting them deteriorate I think is moving in the wrong direction.îHoar said while he was concerned with the added cost, he was hopeful county administration would continue to look for extra funding for the project from the federal or provincial governments, or private industry.Wood, Lorenz, Hoar, Nesbitt, Coun. George Gehrke and Coun. Penny Archibald voted in favour of the motion while Massier was opposed.Symington said the project will be tendered out in January 2012 with construction anticipated to begin in either the spring or summer.
