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Rec roof to be renovated

Users of the Westlock Community Recreation Centre should expect to see changes to the building’s façade and roof in the coming months as the facility undergoes a $500,000 renovation to ensure it remains viable for the next 30 years.
The turret above the pool will be coming down, to be replaced by a pyramidal skylight, and the building’s facade will be altered over the coming months as the
The turret above the pool will be coming down, to be replaced by a pyramidal skylight, and the building’s facade will be altered over the coming months as the building’s exterior is repaired following the snowfall that tore off a piece of the roof’s overhang this past winter.

Users of the Westlock Community Recreation Centre should expect to see changes to the building’s façade and roof in the coming months as the facility undergoes a $500,000 renovation to ensure it remains viable for the next 30 years.

After a portion of the centre’s roof collapsed in January because of the heavy snowfall, the town performed an assessment of the rest of the roof. That inspection found that other sections of the roof, as well as the outer walls, were in need of repairs, said recreation services director Danielle Snyder.

However, Snyder and town CAO Darrell Garceau both stress the roof is not structurally unsound, and is not at risk of collapsing at any moment.

“Everything is secure,” said Snyder. “If it was a danger, we wouldn’t be open.”

The work is expected to start soon, Garceau said, and is expected to last for several months.

The biggest piece of work to be done is replacing the turret at the top of the pyramidal roof over the pool with a glass skylight, which will follow the same angle as the rest of the pyramid.

When the rec centre shuts down for its annual maintenance at the end of August, Rainways Construction, the contractor tasked with the job, will take advantage of that time to tear down the turret and install the skylight, Garceau said.

Before then, however, Rainways will start working on preparing the roof and the skylight for the transition.

This work includes putting up a platform around the turret, and getting the pieces of the skylight ready for installation.

In addition to the new skylight, the overhanging sections of the roof similar to the section that broke off over the winter will be removed. This will prevent moisture from getting into the roof and causing mildew to form.

Furthermore, the walls around the outside of the building are slated to be stripped and redone to make them more water resistant.

With the exception of the work on the skylight, the job can be done without having to close the facility, Snyder said, meaning the project timeline works well because the scheduled shutdown is coming up soon.

The projected cost of the entire project is approximately $484,500, Garceau said, and can be covered without the town needing to borrow any money.

Thanks to the Spirit Centre’s completion being delayed, the town will take $200,000 that was allocated to running the new facility and transfer that over to the roof project.

“We had in our 2011 budget a budgeted amount to run the Spirit Centre,” Garceau said. “Now that the Spirit Centre’s not going to open until March, we won’t incur those costs.”

Another $130,000 will come from the town’s reserves, he said, in addition to a $20,000 payout for the initial roof collapse from the town’s insurance company.

Westlock County will also contribute $150,000 to the project, which will come from the county’s reserves or contingency funds, said reeve Charles Navratil.

This decision was made at the county’s July 12 meeting.

Once the repairs are completed, the roof and walls will be able to last for close to 30 years with routine maintenance, said Gordon Carnegie with Rainways.

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