Photo courtesy District of Mackenzie

Mackenzie, B.C. – Repairs to the Mackenzie Arena are almost complete.

With the exception of a few days it’s been closed all winter due to falling paint from the rink’s ceiling.

“The last I heard Friday from the contractors is they got everything they could get off the ceiling and they were going to clean the entire place up to get rid of all the paint they had blown off the ceiling,” says Mayor Pat Crook.

“They should be skating soon. I’m not sure if it’ll be today, tomorrow, or Wednesday but within the next few days they should be back on the ice.”

The new paint job was a part of the district’s $2.5 million renovation to the recreation facility.

Crook says the ongoing renovations have been fraught with difficulties.

“Renovations started last summer and they were actually delayed because the light manufacturers failed to supply the fixtures on time. That was the first delay and then we got the place up and running and bang it was down because of the paint.”

He admits it’s left a lot of residents feeling frustrated.

“Oh yeah, they have a right to be upset. The figure skating season is almost over and the hockey players should have been on the ice the end of September or early October but they’re not.”

Crooks says contractors are responsible for what’s happened adding it’s left district administration in a tough spot.

“It’s unfortunate this has happened but we’ve done everything to fix it.”