Old buildings and repair work just go hand-in-hand and in Nanton the Tom Hornecker Recreation Centre needs a lot of repairs.

First up, urgent upgrades are needed to the ventilation and dehumidification systems to bring the systems up to code.

The pool also needs repairs to the pipes so it can open on the May long weekend.

That work will cost $104,039 and will be funded by the Municipal Sustainability Initiative Capital Fund.

Mayor Jennifer Handley says that work has to be done this year.

"The most pressing area was the HVAC system and some of that came from the ammonia situation in Fernie," said Handley.

Officials are going around to all the rinks to make sure the systems involved are up to code.

"Those were pretty much not optional we have to get that done this year."

If they didn't get to work right away it could delay the start of hockey season so Council moved to get the repairs underway.

And the pipes that are leaking in the pool had to be changed before the pool opens in May.

Handley says there are other items they need to focus on but there nothing that's pressing.

The former Council had asked for a detailed report on just what is needed to keep the building up to date and it came in with a plan that would require $1.5 million in repairs.

"We have asked the engineers to give us a list of priorities. Where to start, what items need to be worked on right away, what can wait and what is cosmetic."

After replacing the roof over the arena a few years ago many in the community were concerned that it needed to be replaced.

"We don't need a new roof but it certainly needs some repairs."

While the repair bill is high a new rec centre could cost $25 million and take five to 10 years to plan and build.

"For a town of our size, what is reasonable?" she asked.

There could be some good news on the horizon though as Handley said at a recent Mayors conference, there was some talk about new provincial grants for communities with aging recreation infrastructure.

"Some of them involved retrofitting so they are more energy efficient. Other ones are understanding that a lot of these small towns we've got aging buildings. We are always looking for grant opportunities. They haven't released the grants but that is always priority one."

 

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