The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The aging Flin Flon Aqua Centre has "a very limited life" and is in essence surviving on a "week to week" basis, the Chamber of Commerce heard yesterday. Ron Watt, chairman of the proposed Communityplex project, told the chamber that the poor condition of the pool facility is what prompted talk of the need for a new multi-purpose recreational centre. "It's a building that's been in place for, I think, going on 30 years now and it's, quite frankly, in very dire straits," he said of the Aqua Centre. "Structurally, it's an aging building. They're having a lot of trouble with the structural steel and it's a very limited life facility. In fact, it's virtually week to week right now, whether that building can continue." Watt made the comment during a presentation regarding the Communityplex, a facility that would bring existing recreational services, including a swimming pool, under one roof. Flin Flon Director of Works and Operations Kevin Komarnicki acknowledged the Aqua Centre has serious problems, but didn't quite agree with the "week to week" assessment. "I don't know of it's that bad, but the building envelope (the shell of the facility) is in very poor condition as well as the mechanical system," he said. See 'Repairs' P.# Con't from P.# Due to such difficulties, Komarnicki said, the temperature within the 29-year-old facility does not remain constant. Estimates to repair the building envelope have come in at over $1 million, and that wouldn't address the mechanical problems or what Komarnicki called a "poor design," including piping located underneath a concrete decking. With the potential for the Communityplex project to come to fruition, Komarnicki said he would not recommend the Aqua Centre repairs be carried out until the fate of the Communityplex is known. "If the Communityplex becomes no longer viable, then you've got a different set of criteria," he said. "At some point in time, (city) council would have to make the decision of whether we repair (the Aqua Centre) or close it. All I can do is give council the information on what it's going to cost to have the repairs done. Then it's up to them." A 2001 evaluation of the Aqua Centre conducted by Winnipeg-based Tuplin Group Inc. highlighted the problems with the building. "The exterior of the building exhibits a number of areas of serious deterioration," read the consulting firm's 55-page summary of the building evaluation. The report stated that the "pool building roof . . . is not technically up to current pool roofing standards" and that the "exterior wall cladding around the pool area is badly corroded and must be replaced." The report outlined major renovations for the Aqua Centre, including $344,000 for a complete building envelope upgrade with a new metal roof system, and a $253,000 mechanical upgrade. The report estimated that a new pool facility of equal size would cost $2,356,000 and take eight months to complete.2/6/04
