The Regional District of East Kootenay is putting forward $500,000 to help pay for repairs on Cranbrook’s Memorial Arena.
Structural issues were found in the arena’s support beams in late September, prompting the building to close for the season.
Since then, the city has been working to solve the problem.
“Moisture got into the beams and they rotted from the inside out. We have staff that do regular maintenance and examine things, but you could not see these issues because it was at the core of these beams,” said Mayor Wayne Price. “When there was a more forensic-type study on them, that’s when the problem was revealed.”
The City of Cranbrook allocated some money from the Moir Park reserve for the repair work.
“I think it’s the right direction to renovate and repair the building. It’s going to be a $3 million bill, but that being said, they’re telling us it’s going to have a 50-year life out of that,” said Price.
Price is thankful for the funding boost from the RDEK.
“With the budget challenges we’re facing this year, this will provide some relief,” said Price. “We’re extremely grateful for the board members for how they voted.”
