Fort Nelson Examines Options

Thursday, April 12, 2007 03:59 AM

The town of Fort Nelson is putting together a special team to help develop a plan on what should be done about the now collapsed arena.

"We've met with the Councillors and the Chamber of Commerce, and we are pulling together geotechnical engineers and an architect to work with Town Staff on the costs involved to either replace the arena, or build a new structure" says Fort Nelson Mayor Chris Morey.

The arena (shown in photo at right) collapsed on Easter Monday, folding in like a house of cards. Luckily, the problem was detected a week before the cave-in so the building had been shut down and all events cancelled. The cause for the roof collapse is still under investigation, but the impact is still being felt as the building was also attached to the Community Centre and the Curling rink. "We don't know if it is safe to re-open any portion of the other two buidlings " says Mayor Morey. Those structures are still being assessed.

One thing is certain, Mayor Morey says there will be plenty of community consultation. "We need to know if the community wants to just replace the arena, or perhaps look at something different."

That "something different" could mean a multipurpose facility that might also house the aquatic centre which was under review for upgrade or replacement.

There is still no estimate on damage, or the costs to remove and dispose of the debris from the site. That kind of information will become clearer when the Town Staff have more discussions with the insurance company. The good news is, all is not lost, Mayor Morey says the building had insurance "I can assure you, we were not under-insured" says the Mayor.

Previous Story - Next Story