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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-04-08, Page 15The Light Touch By JACK LAVENDER If it weren't for marriage, husbands and wives would have to argue with strangers. * * * A door is what the family dog is always on the wrong side of* * * * In 1945, each car on the road contained an average of 3.2 per- sons. in 1955, it was 1.3. At this rate, every third car on the road will be empty by 1985. * * * A confirmed bachelor is one who goes to a drive.in movie on a motorcycle. * * * Just when we understood about food stamps, postal rates went up. Now we'll need stamp stamps. * * You won't need stamps nor too many bills for precision small engine repair at JACK'S SMALL ENGINE REPAIR 107 Queen St., Hensall 262.2'10 Your Homelite chain tow ten- tre for South Huron, North Middlesex, ABOUT 150 MEMBERS of the public otterided the eieetieg. How we got to this: a summary of arena events Like many con- troversies, the one that surrounds the Exeter Arena has become so en- tangled in details, com- mittees, sub-committees and the other trappings of government, that it becomes difficult to sort out where it all began and why, The actual beginning point for the closing of the arena and subsequent trials and tribulations .was Ate cdnetructibn', if one .is to believe the 'engineering evaluations. Essentially, the building, 'and its design, were doomed to failure from the opening date. Day by day though it really began in January when the Ministry of Labour sent letters to all municipalities requesting that they submit structural safety reports. RAP decided it was time to "lay the cards on the table" said director Jim McKinlay, in reference to an engineering report that all but labelled the building unsafe. The report was made in 1972. It was also the first time that the analogy of the second hand car was used, by McKinlay. The analogy has been a favorite argument of those who support a new arena; claiming that one keeps pumping money into something that is hopelessly beyond total repair and efficient run- ning order. FEBRUARY 12: The Ministry of Labor chooses this day to inspect the arena. It is decided to close the arena indefinitely, assuming, correctly, that the Ministry will even- tually close it down. This voluntary action was prompted by the fact that Exeter council, as a whole and as individuals, would become criminally liable if the structure collapsed and that liability insurance would not cover them. February 21 is cancelled because of the difficulty of moving to a larger ice surface. At the beginning of the meeting Reeve Derry Boyle, acting mayor in the absence of Bruce Shaw who was on vacation said "there is no 'way this meeting is getting down to brass tacks." His comment was accurate, portraying council's. ,slow move for- wards on the question, FEBRUARY 26:The first public meeting on the subject, and the SHRCC comes out with the same suggestions, backed up by George Naoum of Cam- brian. Reeve Derry Boyle again characterized the mood of the meeting when he left, later saying that "I have my mind made up." It was this meeting that saw the battlelines over to repair or build drawn. John Stephens, chairman of the SHRCC, prefaced his remarks to the meeting by saying "we are not trying to railroad this thing through." He was ref- ferring to the remarks that had become prevalent that the SHRCC was going to get a new complex, come hell, high water or a tax jump for the next 35 years. Reports were heard from both Naoum, who outlined the deadlines facing he and the SHCRCC, as well as his recommendations for the building and from Ingo Ruebsam, who drew up the original plan that con- demned the arena. arena could be reopened in the summer provided there is a signed statement to its safety from a structural engineer, again changing the RAP budget picture. Mayor Bruce Shaw claims to have found such an engineer, who will also do the periodic inspections that the Ministry of Labor requires free of charge to the town. , The inter-council co- operation is mentioned for the first time along with the meeting scheduled for April 1 between five councils and the public. MARCH 18: The first of- ficial step by the SHRCC is taken towards the fund raising, Along with plans for a canvass of businesses for moral support, a coupon appears in that day's edition of the Times- Advocate for people in- terested in helping out to fill in and return to RAP. MARCH 20: The Kinsmen stage an Old Timer's Hockey game between Exeter and Team CFPL, a London television station. That and a dance raise approximately $500. MARCH 25: For the first time in seven weeks the Times-Advocate does not carry a story on the arena on its front page, as things slip into a lull while councils, groups and the public wait for what could be the key meeting of the entire controversy, the five council meeting held April 1, ironically on April Fool's day, at Exeter Public School. MARCH 31: Shaw's ar- bitrary deadline passes, council being unwilling and unready to make a decision, APRIL 1: Representatives from four councils meet with 150 residents, to hear briefs from the SHRCC and George Naoum of Cam- brian Facilities. FEBRUARY 16: Council gets its first licks in on the arena when it is brought up in a regular council meeting. The insurance is all but cancelled, leaving only partial coverage on the old building arid the first report from RAP oil what to do with the old building. They recommended the immediate removal of the roof, that the South Huron Recreation Centre Corn- mittee complete its engineering study with Cambrain Facilities Consultants and the SHRCC be appoieted of- ficial fund raisers for' repair of the old of building of the new. Most of the groups using the arena have found new homes, with the exception O.' the Figure Skating Club, who's planned show for JOHN STEPHENS ... 18 rnontht of work At the end of the meeting Mayor Bruce Shaw said "Council should be in a position by the end of March to make a responsible decision," His saving grace was his qualifying words "It will then be up to council to decide if it wants to make that decision." MARCH 8: RAP decided to cancel a campout that is planned for a May weekend by the Ontario Provincial Association of hikers and Campers, This was done because the closing of the arena limited the facilities that they needed for their dances, The SHRCC makes its final recommendations, suggesting the building of an arena, hall and senior citizen's center in one phase. A pool and fitness center are to come in another phase if their recommendations are accepted, Bruce Shaw says Exeter council is near a final decision. APRIL 5: Exeter Council makes a decision, deciding to build an arena and hall in one phase, It iS some- what final, with a qualification that a pool may be added. John Stephens intimates that the SHRCC made a mistake by not deciding to recommend the entire package, which he feels is feasible, MARCH 15: It is An- nounced in council that the qhe CteferZinesativocate April 8, 1976 Page 15 introduction For the South Huron Recreation Centre Committee it was the culmination of 18 months of research and work; for the finance com- mittee the unveiling of 15 days of intensive financial forecasting and for many of the residents of Exeter and the surrounding townships, it was their last shot at expressing their point of view about the propos- ed construction of an arena or the repair of the old. The second mine meeting held to discuss the arena was a review of the past two months of activity since the arena closed and some new details about the proposed structure and how it could be financed with a tentative completion date. The SHRCC, who have been studying a total recreational facility, have completed their study and made their recommendation to coun- cil. Thursday, April 1, the Great Debate Financhig to utilize grants, public donations THE PURPOSE OF THE MEETING was to "inform councils" said Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw (standing). The other councils were represented by, from left to right, by Cecil Desjardines, Stephen Twp., Walter McBride, Usborne Twp. and Jack Tinney, Hay Twp. T-A photo Their final recommendation, compiled minutes before the meeting began, suggests the construction of a new arena, along with a community hall and senior citizens centre in the first of two phases. The second phase of construction on the total centre would in- clude a swimming pool and health fitness centre. Although the arena is closed, it was not a cut and dried decision by the committee to build an arena. There was and still is a strong feeling that an indoor pool is a higher priority. Committee member Doug Ellison said he was torn between the two possibilities, but in the I end voted for an arena. The cast of characters for the meeting was essentially the same as the first, with George Naoum, from Cambrian Facilities Con- sultants, who designed the initial proposal, Jim McKinlay, RAP director, who presented the financial forecast, John Stephens with his committee's report and Mayor Bruce Shaw chairing the meeting. Three reeves from the surrounding townships attended the meeting; all of them intending to report back to their respective councils. Cecil Desjardines, Stephen, Walter McBride, Usborne and John Tinney, Hay had little comment on the proposals until pressed by several members of the public, but their presence and the com- ments of deputy-reeve Bill Morley of Usborne.lent credence to the "South Huron" name for the project. Details of the proposed new building, the financial scope and fun- ding picture, the public reaction and the impending actions by Exeter council are expanded in the stories on this page, recommended that a new arena be built in conjunction With a recreation complex at a cost somewhere over a $1,000,000 and to be completed this year. 50 per cent of the funding would come from government grants and an additional 50 per cent from donations from the public. There are a number of in- tervening variables affecting the project, and in turn, the all im- portant financing of it, First, there must be cooperation from the municipalities involved, Ex- eter, Hay, Usborne and Stephen. That in turn means that the ma- jority members of each council must come up with an endorse- ment of the project and agree to a common facility, such as an arena or a total sports complex. In addition, each municipality must agree to the order of priorities established, such as the phase one - phase two ap- proach suggested by SHRCC. Another variable is the amount of actual money that can actual- ly be raised either through governement grants or through the public sector. A disappoin- ting return from either of these two financing approaches, would affect the results of ,the other, even if successful. The possibili- ty of municipal debenturing would probably have to be con- sidered at least as an emergency option. up 10 per cent, "the current legal rate of inflation," according to George Naoum, President and General Manager of Cambrian. It was estimated that as much as 55 per cent of the project could be financed by government grants. The cooperation of at least one municipality in addi- tion to Exeter would be required to ensure total benefit from the grant schemes, however. Currently, the province is en- couraging municipalities to join forces and share in community projects to reduce expenses and unnecessary overlap in available facilities. SHRCC suggested that funding for the project could be successfully completed without the need for municipalities in- volved to issue debentures. The current five-year forecast for the town of Exeter with regard to capital expenditures indicates a proposed debenture for 1977 of $250,000 for a recreation centre, but the committee feels that there is no reason to place an un- necessary burden upon par- ticipating municipalities if the money can be raised from the public sector. Working on the assumption that at least half of the funds would come from government grants, the committee estimated that $200,000 would come from citizens living in the area, $150,- 000 from the business communi- ty, $50,000 from service clubs, and $70,000 from community projects. The committee also tested a number of businesses and com- munity organizations in the area to determine how much "moral support" there was for a recrea- tion center. Of 23 contacts made, 17 indicated at least moral sup- port for the project. The finance sub-committee of SHRCC has been working on various ways of raising money through the private sector and has come up with a number of different ideas. Their research included correspondence with other municipalities that have successfully financed an arena or sports complex making minimal use of municipal deben- ture. The second phase of the recreation complex as proposed by the committee, would include the swimming pool and health centre at a total estimated cost of between $765,000 and $890,000. The committee did not present any figures on financing this por- tion of the project, representing almost 50% of the total cost for the proposed recreation centre. Costs of repairing the old arena, condemned by the ministry back in February, were also considered by the com- mittee. According to the report, repairing the arena roof, cited by the ministry as the reason for closing, could run as high as $60,- 000. It was emphasized by the committee that this would be the minimal cost involved in order to gain approval from the province to• reopen the structure. The committee warned that other areas of the arena would probably need repairs in the near future, including the refrigera- tion system, the floor, lighting, and plumbing. Total cost, the report indicated, for revitalizing the entire facility could go as high as $450.000. The committee argued Thurs- day night that spending that kind of money on a building that is old, small in terms of ice surface and available parking, and probably subject to continuous provincial inspection every two years makes the project for a new arena and recreation com- plex that much more feasible, In summary, the South Huron Recreation Committee has Stories and Photos by Fred Youngs and Leigh Robinson • SHRCC suggests arena, hail, centre in phase 1 The South Huron Recreation Committee recommended Thursday night that a sports complex be built and that it be built in two phases, phase one be- ing an arena, community hall, and senior citizens centre. Costs for phase one of the project have been estimated at between $1,- 000,000 and $1,225,000, according to Cambrian Consultants, the firm hired by SIIRCCto draw up the plans. Cost of building an arena by itself would be between $740,000 and $900,000 but the committee emphasized that it would be cheaper in the long run to build two or more portions of the com- plex together in order to take ad- vantage of government grants available, which provide more funds if two or more building projects are done simultaneous- ly. Another factor to be con- sidered is that costs going into another year would probably be the other hand, said that the arena should be phase one and the hall and senior's centre packaged together as number two phase. Both groups agreed in their recommendation on the pool though, feeling that it was the last phase and least feasible to be built in phase one with an arena. The pool Cambrian designed is basically a teaching pool that leans towards the shallow side, running from three and a half to five feet deep with an adjacent diving tank if desired. It would be five lanes wide and 25 meters long with separate change rooms and shower facilities. Offices for the manager and lifeguards, a public *viewing room, equipment room and storage area would be in- facilities would be large enough to allow several groups to use it concurrently. All of the facilities would have entrances off the main lobby. The lobby is the major key to the phased construction. With proper implementation, it would allow easy addition of the other phases to the ones already built. The community hall would have a capacity for 500 people to attend a sit down dinner. The 125 by 75 foot hall would have a dance floor of wood planks of about 3000 square feet. A coat area, kitchen facilities, bar and cooler and storage area would also be included. Naoum suggested a portable stage for the hall that would .ellow its removal if it were not needed. Such a stage would be eereee JIM McKINLAY . how much and where it's coming from . what it will look like There is also the factor of time. If funds are not available by August or at least September, the committee would probably have to consider waiting until May of 1977 before an arena would be ready, rather than December of 1976 as is now hoped for. The most obvious result of the project being slowed down for another five to six months would be no facility to house this year's Exeter area minor hockey and figure skating programs, • GEORGE NAOUM constructed from easily movable plywood boxes. The senior citizen's centre is the least costly of the five com- ponents, with an estimated cost between $70,000 and $75,000. The imperative location for such a centre is on the ground floor of any complex so that it can be reached by seniors who are handicapped. It will share kitchen facilities with the hall and can be incor- porated into the hall by the sliding back of a folding partition which will separate the two com- ponents. A craft centre, lounge and meeting room are suggested for it. In its recommendations to council, the SHRCC said that these three components should be built together. Cambrian, on eluded. The diving tank would be separate from the pools so the cost of the pool will be lower because the roof will not have to be as high. It is the second most expensive component, costing in Naoum's estimates, between $680,000 and $800,000, All of the prices Naoum gave are estimates, which he describ- ed as "conservative, probably higher than the actual costs." The health centre will include a sauna, fitness area and a whirlpool bath, which is com- pletely "grantable". It will cost about $90,000. In total, to build all five of the components, the estimated cost would be between $1,750,00 and $2,115,000. A*, Cancer can be beaten 410 The components of the propos- epl South Huron Recreation Gen- t have been made known for some time now, but the actual details of the five pieces was first made known at the public meeting April 1 in Exeter Public School. The plan drawn up by Cam- brian Facilities Consultants, un- der direction by the South Huron Recreation Centre Committee calls for the phased construction of five parts of a complex; an arena, community hall, senior citizen's centre, indoor teaching pool and health club facilities. The accepted plan is one of six original drawings that Cam- brian did. These six were narrowed down to the two best and these were presented to the SHRCC, who chose the one they " felt best suited the South Huron area. Assuming a new arena is to be built, it will be on the Exeter Community Park, obliterating approximately one quarter of the horse track that is there now. Both the committee and' Cam- brian felt that this was the only viable site in the area which provided adequate access, park- ing facilities, drainage and related services like the schools that are presently there. They discarded the idea of building within the track because of the limited access and the storm sewer that runs through the grounds that would have to be moved. Of the five proposed facilities, the arena is the costliest and the largest, George Naoum, president of Cambrian, estimated the cost of an arena in his report to the committee between $740,000 and $890,000. He added that it is possible to build an arena for $400,000 but "you get what you pay for." If the present plan is approved, Ex- eter and the area will get a lot for their money. Naoum proposes a steel frame structure with a steel insulated roof and concrete block walls. The block walls are, he said, easier to maintain against van- dalism than the steel walls. The ice surface itself will measure 85 by 190 feet and will be over a concrete floor that will be heated to avoid frost heaving, The boards of the rink will be coated in plastic and topped with plexiglass shields. The plastic coating will mean that they will be painted only once, when they are installed, and then will have to be cleaned only. The building will seat 800 peo- ple with more room for standing crowds, and the possibility of the construction of portable bleachers to seat another 400 people. The ice plant suggested will be capable of producing ice all year round, Five dressing rooms, along with one for officials, will be provided with full shower and toilet facilities. Two of the dress- ing rooms will have access from the outside of the building and another two will have permanent storage areas for team equip- ment, The dressing rooms have been designed so they can be used all year round by baseball players. A first aid room, offices, ticket booth and storage area will also be included, The washrooms, kitchen and concession facilities and lobby entrance way will be included, but are designed in Such a way that, they can be used jointly with the hall, senior citizen'a centre and pot. Its washrooms and kitchen