Large crowd hears details of proposed new arena complex
MINDEMOYA—The fate of Central Manitoulin’s existing arenas and future recreational infrastructure has been perplexing Central Manitoulin councils for several years now. With the need for a decision looming, the municipality’s Recreational Infrastructure Committee (RIC) presented its findings and recommendations at a public information session in Mindemoya on February 27. That meeting was attended by close to 80 concerned residents.
“The reality is that the two arenas in the municipality are both 75 years old and are in need of replacement,” said Adam Smith, RIC chair and spokesperson. The committee has recommended a new, multi-use facility dubbed the ‘Five Points Community Centre’. The name reflects the five communities that make up the municipality (Mindemoya, Providence Bay, Spring Bay, Big Lake and Sandfield).
“The committee believes the vast majority of the members of the public want to see a functional, economically feasible, multi-use infrastructure,” said Mr. Smith, who pointed out there are currently eight underused and inaccessible buildings within the municipality.
The public information session was part of the RIC’s ‘due diligence’ in ‘searching for common goals and solutions for Central Manitoulin recreation infrastructure so that future generations can look back and say that it was done right and that all options were explored properly at the time.’
The committee found that the most feasible option is a new multi-use facility with an economically viable arena and a partitioned multi-use area with room for phased in expansion, centrally located at the municipal complex property in Mindemoya.
The current iteration of the project is a slightly scaled back version compared to the May 2021 plan unanimously approved ‘in principle’ by the previous council.
“It should be noted up front that the predecessor to this committee, the Recreation Centre Committee, and council were presented with a not-often-seen opportunity to apply for millions of dollars in capital in a combined provincial/federal program through Infrastructure Canada that would have produced a larger multi-floor project that completed many of the current and future goals at once with some added aesthetic elements,” said Mr. Smith.
That application was not successful and without the large amounts of government capital investment, the RIC has scaled back that earlier vision significantly to “reflect the immediate need and basic functionality that is an affordable, phased in build for the community of Central Manitoulin.”
Phase one of the new design, arena replacement, calls for a 260 foot by 173 foot steel shell building, with a standard rink size of 200 feet by 85 feet, a utility/operations area, six changerooms with bathrooms, bleachers and a front foyer with a canteen and accessible viewing. Community event and conference space come under phase two, in a multi-use facility with capacity up to 500 people. There will be three partitioned rooms, a kitchen backing the canteen, a small bar serving area and storage.
A total of 18 possible properties were considered for the location of the new facility. That was narrowed down to two options, but in the end, the only viable property was the municipal complex in Mindemoya.
“This location is the only municipally owned land capable of accommodating a large footprint and infrastructure required for a new building and having potential for future expansion,” Mr. Smith said. “The property is centrally located within the town and uses other recreation infrastructure such as ball fields, a tennis court, playground and park area that would complement or benefit from the new build. It only makes sense to put the building here continuing with its use as a recreation property.”
The new building would be located in what is currently the ‘B’ ballfield located between the War Memorial Community Centre and the Mindemoya Old School, with the ballfield being relocated to an area close to where the current tennis courts are located. In the original plan, it called for the use of the property when the Mindemoya Old School is, but now that has changed because the Friends of the Mindemoya Old School has a long-term lease for the building.
“We welcome community input,” said Mr. Smith, who noted, “the positioning of the building and location and building is not set in stone.”
A big concern was cost. Ray Bigras of Spring Bay said, “I lived in Sudbury for 30 years. (Dario) Zulich wanted a new arena by his casino. With cost overruns, the $100 million arena in Sudbury was going to cost $250 million so they decided to rebuild the arena downtown for $30 million. We can’t afford for our taxes to go any higher.”
The committee’s focus has been and continues to be an affordable facility that meets the needs of the community, attendees were told. Initial calculations, based on several funding input scenarios, have shown that the new facility is feasible, based on existing external funding approval to construct the facility and the associated cost of loans over 10 years, operating expenses without any increase to municipal taxes. Mr. Smith noted it all depends on funding approvals and what amounts are approved, as there are dozens of funding scenarios that could take place.
Funding through a variety of programs has been explored with several viable options available to offset the cost of the build. Mr. Smith outlined a variety of programs that have been explored, with several viable options available to offset the cost of the build which is estimated to cost between $8 and $10 million. The municipality has currently committed the amount of $503,400 by way of the Municipal Modernization Funding, in addition to Mindemoya Arena Advisory Steering Committee (MAASC) funds in the amount of $16,372.66 and $200,000 (2021), plus $150,000 (2022) to reserves for a retrofit or new build, a total of $869,772.66 municipal investment is available.
Capital would be freed up by not operating two underused arenas and streamlining maintenance costs and staff. There is also an anticipated increase in revenue with a new facility for weddings, tradeshows, and sports clinics, etc.
One goal of the project is to offset costs with a green build that includes solar panels and heat recovery, using a net zero arena concept. This focuses on energy efficiency and carbon reduction measures within the building and its operations.
John MacDonald, a contract maintenance electrician from Providence Bay said in his 20 years experience, new isn’t always better and green incentives and energy grants paid off. “You don’t always get money back,” he said. “I’m on the fence.”
Jim Smith said, “You guys have done a very good job,” but suggested the more than $850,000 earmarked could go towards repair. “The rest of the arena is in pretty good shape structurally,” he said. “Instead of new, the repairs needed on many other municipal buildings could be done over (a few) years.”
“This issue is not new,” stated Lyle Dewar. He said the municipality needs to save its money for the current garbage situation, with the soon to be closed Providence Bay landfill. He said the Mindemoya arena is still in good shape structurally, and pointed out that the NEMI recreational complex takes about $700,000 per year to operate and maintain.
“I believe Mindemoya needs a new arena, but I don’t believe a complex is needed,” said Allison McDermid. She noted her concerns with her taxes increasing.
There are liability issues and ongoing maintenance needs to consider with the aging infrastructure, the ratepayers were told.
Accessibility is a big concern for the municipality. Many of Central Manitoulin’s public buildings aren’t accessible and require upgrades. The central town of Mindemoya did not have a public facility that was suitable for holding Covid-19 vaccination clinics in because of lack of accessibility, for example, and the municipality’s current emergency preparedness shelter and evacuation centre is not an accessible building. This refers to the War Memorial Community Centre where both levels of the facility are accessed by stairs, although there are chair lifting devices associated with both sets of stairs.
Janet Anning, who has lived in Mindemoya for 34 years and is a coordinator with Manitoulin Special Olympics, said, “There is a need for change for accessibility. We use the arena in Providence Bay for the Bluegrass in the Country event every year. It’s deplorable that the buildings we are using are not accessible. If we don’t start moving ahead, everything will close because they’re not accessible. It’s a wonderful job you have done. That’s lot of work. Thank you.”
In fact, all public buildings in Ontario must be accessible by 2025, said Mr. Smith. The municipality’s 2023 budget listed an estimated $1.1 million alone to bring the Mindemoya Community Hall building standards, with approximately $725,000 of that being accessibility related.
“I’m not here to discuss cost, location, size or design of a multiplex facility,” said Steve Shaffer. ‘I am here tonight to advocate strongly for advancing the process, not taking steps backwards. What we need to do is the take the next step in the RFP process; an RFP that presents design options and costs for the community and council to consider.”
“We need to take the next steps in choosing and developing a plan to replace this significant municipal asset,” said Mr. Shaffer. “This multiplex facility must be financially responsible to the local taxpayer, and to do this, we must leverage funding resources as they become available. When the opportunities arise, we must have a plan ready to present. Status quo and inaction are not plans, they are a recipe for future excessive spending.”
The RIC has council’s approval to move forward with a feasibility study that includes a scenario where Mindemoya’s existing arena would be renovated. The approved cost of the feasibility study is $100,000, which would be taken out of the funds already earmarked for the recreation facility. The Green Municipal Fund also has a grant that could cover half of the feasibility cost and is retroactive for new construction energy-efficient municipal facilities.
Completion of the feasibility study checks off requirements of granting programs, such as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund and is the next step prior to design and cost estimates.
RIC chair Smith pointed out with the ages of the current arenas, “we’re going to need a new facility soon. Those that say we can’t afford this must know something I don’t. We need to get this to the design phase. We won’t know until the next stage of the project is done what the figures will be.”
“At this point, we’re not able to talk about numbers,” he said. “This is just an initial plan to see if it’s possible. In 20 years, we want to say that we did this plan right.”
