The Bonnyville Curling Club is looking for some help as their building is in need of some major maintenance.
The curling hall is now past it's 20-year life span and some of the parts of the building are beginning to fail.
“It probably should have been upgraded years ago,” said Colin Hanusz, president of the Bonnyville Curling Club.
The flat roof is leaking, and some of the compressors are past their life, which means they could stop working at any moment.
This year alone, the curling club has spent $4,300 to maintain the facility. Representatives were in front of town council at the end of November to ask for financial assistance.
“We have been trying to save money due to the fact that our main ice plant is old. If it was ever to fail we would have a lot of expenses to get it up and running and to maintain our curling season,” said Hanusz.
Although the membership is slightly down, from 120 to 104, the club has around $130,600 in the bank.
In hopes of completing the necessary repairs and extending the building's life span, the group has created a three-year maintenance plan. The proposal, which was presented to councillors, comes in at a total cost of $182,000.
These renovations would take place during the summer months when the ice is out of the rink.
In the summer of 2017 they hope to start repairs, including painting the building and replacing the roof and furnace. This set of renovations is budgeted to cost $95,000.
“Our biggest issue is the flat roof,” explained Hanusz. “It causes us lots of grief. We have lots of issues with it, we have buckets on the ice to catch the water.”
Hanusz added that he believes when the roof was constructed in 1994, it wasn't built up to standards. But, he wants that repair to be the biggest focus for the future of the curling club. The roof alone is expected to cost $60,000.
The furnaces, which cost around $4,000 each, are also overdue for replacement.
“We have probably spent more money fixing (the furnaces) than it would cost to replace it,” said Hanusz.
In the summer of 2018 upgrades would continue on the front of the building, some bar cooler replacements, and changing the paint underneath the ice to stickers, which will save money in the long run. The total cost for year two is set at $47,000.
In the third and final summer of the maintenance plan, which will be 2019, the club hopes to get work completed on the facility's kitchen and bathroom. This comes with a $40,000 price tag.
“We want to make things better for the next 10 years,” noted Hanusz.
The Bonnyville Curling Club will be applying for grants to help with the costs of the renovations and the Town of Bonnyville has written a letter of support for them. The town has also committed to giving the curling hall $20,000 a year over the three years. To offset remaining costs, the club is planning to do some fundraising.
“Including the grant and the fact that the town has committed $20,000, if we want to do the roof we're going to have to get some help, from either the town here or maybe from the MD,” said Hanusz. “The roof needs to be done now, everything else can be done over time.”
