Area A director Daniel Arbour is the new chair of the Comox Valley Sports Centre Commission, which comprises regional district directors from the rural areas and municipalities, and a school district trustee.
The commission manages the Sports and Aquatic centres, and the Curling Club. It partnered with Comox Valley Schools (SD71) to develop the turf field and running oval adjacent to the CV Sports Centre.
“The more we can partner in delivering recreation services, the better that is,” Arbour said. “The average home in the Comox Valley contributes about $125 a year for all those facilities.”
Over the next couple of years, the commission and the Comox Valley United Soccer Club will explore the possibility of constructing a clubhouse at the turf field, better washroom facilities and perhaps a second field.
“There’s a few projects coming up,” Arbour said, noting conversations have started about a long-term replacement of the Sports Centre, which was constructed in 1973.
The Aquatic Centre was built in 1999.
“Along with our strategic drivers with climate change, we’re actually going to buy an electric Zamboni this year. The old one is propane. It’s coming to the end of life of that vehicle.”
There are also plans to install electric vehicle charging stations at each sports facility. Arbour said the cost to install a Level 2 station is $8,000 to $12,000. The district has applied for a provincial grant to cover the cost.
