CENTRAL MANITOULIN—Following heated debate at committee and council and hearing from a host of engineering reports, Central Manitoulin council has voted in a split decision to conduct temporary measures aimed at shoring up the west wall of the Mindemoya arena. The facility had been closed to the public following revelations that the wall had shifted as much as four inches due to a heavy snow load.
The council chambers were packed to standing room only last week, with young players in their hockey jerseys and their parents and coaches, many bearing signs in support of the arena repairs.
“We are overjoyed with the response from Mayor Stephens and Councillors Diebolt, Scott and Farquhar,” said community spokesperson Marie Ford who, along with Karlene Scott had organized a fundraising pancake supper that drew a huge crowd and raised nearly $12,000 aimed toward arena repairs. “We plan on continuing our fund-raising efforts to supplement where we can,” confirmed Ms. Ford. “At this point, our community should be proud of their overwhelming support and hard work.”
Council debated an earlier recommendation from the April 8 Property Committee meeting, moved by Councillor Derek Stephens and seconded by Councillor Rose Diebolt, “That we recommend to council that a budget of $40,000 be approved to proceed with temporary shoring to the west wall at the J.H. Burt Memorial Arena as soon as possible in order to give time for the Recreation Infrastructure and Arena planning process to be completed,” during its April 10 meeting.
Mindemoya Minor Hockey Association past president T.J. McDermid addressed the ongoing situation with the J.H. Burt Memorial Arena facility. “Removal of that snow should be a top priority for public safety, it should not be left,” said Mr. McDermid. “We’re asking for our facility to be safe, regularly maintained and ready for use.” Mr. McDermid’s impassioned presentation was met with enthusiastic applause from those in attendance.
The west wall of the arena is where the players’ benches are located, and that section of the facility remains cordoned off.
Dan Moody of Tulloch Engineering was called upon to provide an assessment of the facility and he noted that the engineers are still not certain as to why the wall moved.
Reports from staff had previously confirmed that the snow load had not exceeded that which the municipality had been warned would require the accumulation to be removed—but a subsequent rainfall might have been in play.
“Right now, we still don’t know why (the wall) has moved,” said Mr. Moody. He pointed to two options that were available to the municipality and had been discussed with municipal staff.
The best option, in the engineer’s assessment, would be to replace the wall, putting it back to its pre-damaged condition, but that option brings with it significant costs.
The second option would be installing temporary shoring along the west wall, but that would be a stopgap that would last two to three years at best.
Architects 3rd Line Studios, the group that provided designs to refurbish the Sudbury arena, noted that they have been conducting assessments of the Island’s seven arenas and have been hired to conduct public consultation on the possibility of a new build with a report due by February 2026.
“What we do is just wait until something breaks and then we fix it,” said Councillor Derek Stephens. “And I get these crowds coming every time about spending taxpayers’ money. We need to come up with a plan. We can’t just keep fixing a used car.”
Councillor Brian Mitchell asked where the money for the repairs would come from. Council had previously voted down a $500,000 line item in the 2025 budget unanimously.
During the previous Property Committee meeting, members received a number of petitions from the community regarding the continued operation of the arena that had been distributed at several locations in the municipality barely a week previously.
Ms. Ford explained that the petitions were gathered up early for presentation to council due to the short timeframe in which to get the repairs underway for community groups to be able to utilize the facility during the upcoming spring and summer seasons. The arena plays a critical role for several community groups in Mindemoya that would be disrupted if that facility is not available.
An initial motion to repair the arena immediately moved by Councillor Rose Diebolt was defeated, leading to some angry interchanges between those in attendance and council with some supporters storming out of the meeting.
But Councillor Stephens’s question on the feasibility of the second option offered by Tulloch led to a second motion to shore up the west wall that passed.
“Personally, I want to see that arena open and available,” said Councillor Stephens. “If we’re going to spend $30,000 to $40,000 to get another year out of it and not a quarter of a million dollars, that would get me to reconsider.” Councillor Stephens has long been a proponent of a new modern multi-use complex to serve the community.
“We don’t have the equipment that would allow staff to do the removal safely, we’ve gotten a quote that says it would be 10 grand a pop,” CAO Denise Deforge cautioned council. Despite those concerns, council opted for the second approach to the issue.
Concerns still remained regarding the fate of the 2025-2026 hockey and skating season. But a related motion, also moved by Councillor Derek Stephens and seconded by Councillor Rose Diebolt, saw council considering another recommendation from the Property Committee, “That we recommend to council that a budget of $10,000 be approved for the repair of the valve packing on the ammonia suction valve at the J.H. Burt Memorial Arena to be completed if required prior to the plant start up in fall of 2025.”
It seems, for now at least, the J.H. Burt Memorial Arena in Mindemoya will live another day.
