Sparwood’s newly formed Recreation Facility Advisory Committee (RFAC) will look at the future of the community’s indoor recreation facilities.
Mayor David Wilks says the committee formed in September in the face of some costly repairs and maintenance across Sparwood’s indoor facilities.
“We recognize our recreational facilities are aging and we wanted to get ahead of it and ensure we have the opportunity to move quickly when things go wrong,” said Wilks.
“The hockey rink and that portion of the recreational facility was built in 1971. The pool was built in 1984, it’s 40 years old and pools deteriorate over time and that will be a very costly fix when we need to replace the pool.”
The committee is currently working through its onboarding process, which will involve an investigation into the current state of Sparwood’s facilities.
This process is also meant to gain insight on governance, asset management, debt capacity, and communications as well as examine and learn from past work.
“We understand that these things are very costly, so when we move forward, we want to give the public as much information as we can with regards to what we are going to do,” said Wilks.
This initial phase is expected to continue into early 2025, followed by a public engagement period.
The engagement sessions will be open to Sparwood residents and anyone who would like to visit the community’s recreation facilities.
Committee chair and district council member Steve Kallies says the RFAC will determine the needs and wants of the community.
“Concentration will be on understanding the current condition of facilities in Sparwood and investigating options for the future. This could include but is not limited to: do nothing and operate as status-quo, renovate/expand, build a new facility or any combination of the three,” said Kallies.
“Nothing is off the table and the committee will be thoroughly exploring all options.”
The RFAC’s final report will be created using public input and balanced with capital and operational costs.
Work should be finished by the end of 2025 with the report detailing the next steps for Sparwood’s council.
“This process is intended to be highly comprehensive and thorough,” said Kallies.
“The RFAC has a great deal of work ahead of them. There is a lot to learn and think about as well as many moving parts to be considered, but the Committee is strong and excited for the work ahead.”
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