No end in sight as rec centre woes pile up
By Jim Mosher
Friday September 28, 2007
Interlake Spectator - WINNIPEG BEACH - The fiscal hole just got deeper at the money-pit which is the town recreation centre.
After dealing with a sewer back-up last fall, the town is now grappling with more damage and shortcomings in the building on Hamilton Ave.
This time around, the damage is due to a host of things, including an undetected water leak, lack of an adequate heating and ventilation system, more mold and a firewall that was compromised when a furnace duct was put through it.
Coun. Pam Jackson delivered the bad news at a regular meeting of council Tuesday evening. She said a water pipe leak in the main floor public washrooms caused extensive damage to the walls. The leak is probably a couple of years old, with damage extending down into the basement where additional remediation work will be required.
Jackson recently joined a facility expert in assessing the state of the Hamilton Ave. building. That’s when the mold, the water and the bad interior air hit the fan.
She says “both bathrooms must be totally redone” at a cost expected to range from $15,000 to $20,000. “And downstairs, where we used to have a mold problem, we have a mold problem again.”
As well: “We have to look at the whole furnace system and ducting before we can put any programming in there,” Jackson said. “That could be a pretty costly venture.”
And more: “We have firewalls that are not working. We have fire exits that are blocked.”
And: “There’s no air circulation in the building.”
It is not safe for people to use the building nor can recreation director Julianna Roberts move into the building as planned, while the problems persist.
Fall and winter program planning is set back, as Jackson and Roberts deal with the problem-plagued rec centre building.
On the upside, it’s expected a larger outdoor skating rink will be built on the west side of the rec centre.
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