The 2012 opening of the Rotary Spirit Centre was a momentous occasion.
When the ribbon was finally cut there was a collective exhale as the road had been long and arduous — remember, there were plebiscites in the county and town asking whether it should even be built, followed by Westlock County’s refusal to donate a nickle for construction.
And don’t forget the cost over-runs which brought the final price tag north of $15 million and the extra year it took to get it open after the project’s initial general contractor went into a voluntary receivership in late 2010.
But that’s all water under the bridge and most agree that the facility is undoubtedly a jewel of the community … except for the parking lot.
If you’ve attended R.F. Staples’ grad ceremonies at the RSC you know that it’s next to impossible to find a parking spot. Mind you, finding a decent spot on any given Saturday at the height of hockey season is a challenge.
Of course it wasn’t supposed to be that way as when the RSC went up, Jubilee Arena was supposed to come down.
In hindsight it should come as no surprise that asbestos was found throughout the 55-year-old rink — town CAO Dwight Dibben says they able to dig up a 2012 report that stated 16 of 26 building-material samples tested positive for asbestos.
But considering all the setbacks and obstacles just to get the RSC open, the council of the day was decidedly pragmatic by foregoing what would have been a costly demolition.
It’s also hard to fault the current council for not putting priority on the demo as in the years since there’s been other big-money jobs like the Southview rehab project and the new underground reservoir.
But now, with the ceiling falling in and cracks in the cement throughout, using it as a storage facility isn’t an option, unless the town wants to pony up anywhere from $400,000 to $1M. Thankfully, that’s a route council appears unwilling to consider.
Demolishing Jubilee won’t be cheap as a “best guess” estimate pegs the number at $900,000, while administration has been tasked with providing more information.
That said it’s time to put Jubilee Arena to bed.
