Long awaited upgrades are coming to the Dryden Memorial Arena.
Council has approved a $2,817,880 contract to expand the facility.
The original budget was more than $1.9 million but that was determined before COVID-19.
Council decided to act now on a staff recommendation to proceed before costs go up further due to high inflation and the inability to predict future costing.
Community Services Manager Steve Belanger says the two-story expansion includes four fully accessible dressing rooms each with separate showers and washroom facilities.
Those will be located in the Chris Pronger Rink.
The second floor will house a community multipurpose meeting space, accessible washrooms and a storage space.
Belanger says there will also be a viewing area over Rink #1 with availability for special events and fundraising opportunities.
The expanded area would be serviced by two stair wells and a full-service elevator.
The successful bid went to a group of companies involving RJ Concrete Construction, JML Engineering and Alfred Wood Architects.
The upgrade will fit with the current look of the Recreation Centre and Pool and construction will be focused on the Whyte Avenue side of the facility.
With Council approval Belanger says he can now start working with the engineers and architect to finalize the plans.
The project is a three party contribution between the Government of Canada at 40%, the province at 33.3% and the City at 26.7%.
The Dryden Recreation Extension and Modification Committee has pledged to contribute $308,054 of the City’s portion.
That leaves a shortfall of $822,030.
Belanger says he will be exploring external funding opportunities under the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and Canadian Communities Building Fund.
If those applications aren’t successful, the cost overrun would be covered under the cities General Capital Reserve Fund.
Councillor Shayne MacKinnon says this opportunity probably won’t come again for many, many years and he supports the expansion.
Norm Bush says the upgrades are a long time coming and is a once in a generation priority project as the Arena is a cornerstone of the community.
Michelle Price says construction prices are only going to go up and they need to act now.
