The Access Communications Centre. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

NB council

Next city council will decide arena future

May 16, 2024 | 4:00 PM

The City of North Battleford is starting to look at future plans for the aged Access Communications Centre (ACC).

Council agreed that the next council following this fall’s civic elections will need to decide whether to invest more money into keeping the current facility going much longer, or to begin investing in building a new replacement facility.

Administration noted in their report the latest the arena can remain open without major and very intensive repairs is 2031. After that time, the costs increase substantially. According to preliminary estimates, It would cost about $2.1 million in total to maintain the arena to 2031. After that date, the costs increase significantly. To maintain the arena to 2033, it’s estimated it would cost about $10.4 million.

Mayor David Gillan said council will need to decide how much money to put into the existing building to keep it sustainable, without at the same time spending so much money that it would preclude the city from building a new rink.

“In other words, are we going to renovate and let this building last for a long time, or are we actually going to build something new?” he said. “We are getting to a crossroad. I think our consultant is going to be coming along, who is looking at the new build option or options. That combined with administration bringing back to council a final proposal on just keeping the building, but renovating the ACC.”

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Gillan said all these decisions will be happening in early 2025 when the new council is in place.

“What we’re basically saying is that the time has come now for decision-making because the Access Communications Centre needs a lot of money [for renovations],” he said. “It’s not just small money. So, we’re not going to put all our resources into renovating and building [the old building] and knock it down; we are going to keep it. We are at a point where we really have to make some very difficult decisions. But we need more information. It’s coming out in the early new year [of 2025].”

City Manager Randy Patrick noted administration recommended council set a preliminary time schedule for closing the existing arena in 2031.

“This basically says to us: We start to make the plans. We make sure we’re ready for it on budgeting. It’s not the final decision. It is a target. The final decision [will be] after we get more information, which is the reports that we’re going to need, particularly from this consultant, which is going to be brought on. I think the RFP [request for proposal] will be brought on next week.”

Patrick noted when the city gets the information back from the consultants in January or February 2025, the new council can make that decision, with knowing the costs, and what the business-case for all the different scenarios is, so they will have much improved information available compared to what city administration can obtain right now.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow