EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the text of a presentation to the Central Manitoulin Property Committee given by resident Marie Ford on behalf of arena users. The presentation outlined concerns about the closure of the Mindemoya arena due to a wall shifting following heavy snow and rain.
My name is Marie Ford. I am here tonight, not just as a concerned resident, but as a voice for some of our community, our coaches, parents, fans, athletes and other arena users. We are all deeply concerned about the future of our arena.
None of us are ignorant to the fact that our arena is over 70 years old, and we expect that it will require maintenance. However, in 2019 an engineer’s report outlined approximately a dozen recommendations, such as fixing missing fasteners in the roof so that exposed beams were not subject to water damage. Regularly monitoring snow and ice build-up on the roof and removing it when it exceeded the engineer recommendations. These are just two of the recommendations. I strongly suggest that everyone remain to listen to the most recent report.
In 2019, council minutes (258-19) show the maintenance supervisor, at the time, was directed to monitor the snow depth when removing snow from the roof. A local contractor was consulted and offered to do the roof snow removal when necessary, as he had the appropriate equipment. The contractor was never contacted for snow removal. In 2024, an engineer report makes the same 2019 recommendations and observed that few had been implemented since 2019. The ice-resurfacing room was upgraded by a local contractor for a third of the budgeted cost. Sadly the 2024 report describes the arena as “very poor,” there is no lower rating on their scale.
Fast forward to 2025, again no further recommendations have been addressed. For a second year in a row, council and the municipality determine that closing the arena on March 1 makes sense. Even prior to the west wall issue, where does it make sense to close this arena during play offs, let alone during March break? Parents and community members fought to keep the arena open for another week, by attending a council meeting. The optics of the arena having an emergency shut down on the first day of pay offs is quite frankly unbelievable.
There is a growing feeling of non-confidence and it appears that there is no interest by this municipality and some council members to keep our arena open.
This isn’t just about hockey, this is about the heart of our community and how we feel the municipality has failed us by not putting action to expert recommendations.
Our arena isn’t just a building. It is where our local youth develop discipline, teamwork and life lifelong friends. It is where families and community members gather. It is a place that we take pride in. It is a source of revenue for our municipality. It is what makes out town special.
We need answers and perhaps more importantly we need action. The community deserves a clear plan and we deserve accountability for what we feel is neglect by our own municipality.
Moving forward, we would like to work with out municipality together for a sustainable solution for our arena.
I have the following questions:
1. Since the 2019 engineer report, what structural changes have been made?
2. Who’s responsibility is it to remove the snow from the arena roof and against the walls?
3. How often is the ice/snow monitored or removed and where is this documented?
4. Did the municipality apply for any grants for the arena? There was an available Community Sport Recreation and Infrastructure grant in the fall of 2024, why did the municipality not apply for it?
5. Prior to the emergency closure. March 1 was the designated closure date, was council made aware of this? Why would the municipality close the arena when play offs are scheduled to start?
6. Why is the municipality not adhering to recommendations made by the engineer reports – spending thousands of dollars on the same reports and not acting on them?
7. When the minor hockey kids (80 of them) plus their parents had to re-route to other arenas, it would appear that since the men’s hockey could use it and presumably summer users, that the west wall is fixable. Why has the municipality and council not obtained estimates to repair it?
8. There appear to be dents against the west wall. Could this be as a result of the snow removal equipment striking the outer wall once there was a realization the snow load may be an issue?
9. If there are no upgrades or remedies being sought, what are the plans for the arena? Does the municipality have plans that community members are not aware of?
10. I request that there be a motion for a town hall meeting in our community within the next week, and that this motion does not interfere or delay an immediate motion to obtain estimates to have the west wall of the arena fixed.
