County to Allow Chestermere Recreation Centre to Remain Open
Friday, September 27, 2019
Rocky View County Council has voted to allow the Chestermere Recreation Centre to remain open after receiving new information on the stability of the structure.
On Tuesday, September 25, County Council voted to close the facility after an engineering report questioned the structural integrity of parts of the building, and the County was served with an Infraction Letter from a City of Chestermere safety codes officer.
Over the past two days, the County has been working diligently with the building’s operators, stakeholders, and engineering officials to determine if the facility could remain open without posing a risk to public safety.
At a special Council Meeting, councillors were told by engineers that a failure of the roof over the facility’s Red Rink could be mitigated. Council was further assured that the rest of the facility would not be impacted by any issues with the Red Rink.
Council voted to allow the Chestermere Recreation Centre to remain open provided the building’s operator, the Chestermere Regional Community Association, implements a snow monitoring and removal program.
Council was assured the program could be put in place immediately, which allows the facility to remain open.
Council’s original action was taken to ensure public safety after the City of Chestermere served the County with an Infraction Letter, which stated that there were “major safety concerns” and that the Recreation Centre could not be occupied until major structural concerns were addressed.
County Council was also concerned by a Stantec engineering report that stated, “The degree in which this structure is under-designed is cause for concern. The structure would not be able to withstand current design snow loading, and has no allowance for any additional dead load superimposed on the structure besides the bare minimum roofing ... As the safety of the users of this structure is paramount, we would recommend reinforcing the structure where required so that it can be deemed safe ...”
The Chestermere recreation centre is primarily used by Calgary and Chestermere residents, but the building and land are owned by Rocky View County. For decades, the County has leased the building at no charge to the Chestermere Regional Community Association, and provided millions of dollars in additional funding to the facility as part of the County’s many contributions to regional recreation.
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