The Westlock Recreation Centre re-opened Tuesday after a heavy load of snow caused part of the roof to collapse.
The damage to the structure is still visible on the southeast side of the building, but town CAO Darrell Garceau said engineers have examined the damage and there are no safety concerns.
“We wanted to make sure it was structurally sound, and that was validated by Bearden Engineering, so of course the facility was then reopened,” he said.
The damage to the structure occurred Sunday morning, and the facility was closed Sunday, Monday and most of Tuesday. It was re-opened Tuesday afternoon after the engineers gave the go-ahead.
The damage was caused by the heavy load of snow Westlock has had in the past month, combined with the way the drainage system on that roof was designed.
The town will not do any major repairs until spring, according to Garceau, but rather will do a “temporary” fix that will essentially just weather-proof the damaged area.
“We’re not going to do anything in terms of refinishing immediately,” he said. “We’re just going to repair to get us through the winter so there’s no more damage to the building.”
He added the town has no concerns about the other municipal facilities.
The town administration building, the arena and the curling rink are all in good shape, he said.
“Those areas where it’s built up, our staff is just taking a snowblower and moving the snow off,” he said.
“From a structural perspective, we don’t have any concerns about our facilities.”
