By Liam Verster

Clairmont Arena

Needs assessment will be done on the Clairmont Arena and Community Hall

Mar 11, 2020 | 11:21 AM

The County of Grande Prairie and Clairmont & District Agricultural Society will conduct a needs assessment for the Clairmont Arena and Community Hall, before determining the future of the facility.

The Arena was closed in December of 2019, and the County approved $9,850 to a local engineering firm to conduct a needs assessment on the arena and community hall.

The firm, SPA Engineering, reported back to County Council in January, with short-term, mid-term and long-term financial assessments. Those options range in funding models, but include an average estimated cost of $99,800 to repair the hall and bring it up to safety standards, and an additional $700,000 to $4.2-million to repair the arena.

After discussing all the options during the March 9 Council Meeting, Reeve Leanne Beaupre said “Council’s position was that we needed to actually do a needs assessment for the Clairmont and area, based on [the provided options], before we make some of those decisions to commit a substantial amount of funding.”

She says since the arena closed, other recreation facilities have been able to pick u the slack, and take on the users.

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“As part of our commitment to the Grande Prairie and Region Recreation Master Plan, or Master Committee, we do recognize that we have facilities in the area that have demonstrated, with the closure of the arena, that they are able and capable to pick up some of the ice time that had to be designated to other areas when the arena closed.”

Beaupre adds Council wants to make sure the decision on the investment option for the Clairmont Arena and Community Hall won’t add any extra burden to the other arenas or facilities.

The needs assessment will ask for public and community partners engagement, in order to gather feedback to better determine how the arena and community hall fits into the recreational needs of the public in the region. From there, the County can make a decision on how much they are willing to fund to bring the facility back into a usable condition.

Beaupre says they don’t have specific details set out on how the assessment will look, but expects County Administration will work with a consultant to do these assessments. A timeline for the assessments has not yet been established.