The puck should be dropped in the new indoor ice facility here in mid-November, 1999, with the town and “Ice for Kids” reps to look at the preliminary designs and cost estimates at a meeting Sept. 8.
Construction on the 1,000-seat facility is slated to start next spring to avoid the high cost of winter construction, particularly heating and hoarding.
The building will run east-west on the north side of the Sportsplex, with a foyer to join them with Memorial Arena, it was decided at a meeting Aug. 18 with the architect, Kuch Stephenson.
The group also focused on aesthetics of the exterior, and how parking will impact those living around the facility. But project manager Brian Avis stressed they didn’t know how much room would be left on the building’s north side for parking.
“Not at this stage, no. We won’t know that until their initial design on Sept. 8,” he told council Monday night, adding they planned to inform neighbourhood residents once the initial plans are set.
Meanwhile, council is hoping to have as many members as possible on hand for the Sept. 8 meeting, and tentatively have changed the meeting time to the evening to do that.
“I think that it would bode well on this project, especially at this point, if we could accommodate council,” Coun. Sharon Tibbs said, noting the evening meetings would allow councillors to attend and would mean less repetition.
In related news, four of the five soil tests were done at the site last week. Council also approved a $1,893.50 payment to Avis for July’s time and expenses.