White Rock city council is “not ready to throw in the towel” on the notion of twinning Centennial Arena, despite a staff report Monday night recommending the city abandon the initiative.
The report, presented by the city’s director of recreation and culture Eric Stepura, outlined a business case for the possible construction of a twin rink north of the existing arena. Research into the project was initiated following a request from Semiahmoo Minor Hockey and White Rock South Surrey Skating Club, who told council in June they were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ice time outside their catchment area.
Citing the potential loss of 40-50 mature trees, the demolition of the Semiahmoo Arts Building and relocation of the off-leash dog park – plus an estimated construction cost of nearly $17 million and annual net operating costs of $1.1 million – staff recommended that council “not proceed with exploring the initiative.”
Council, however, voted to instruct staff to explore a public-private partnership (P3) for the project.
“I don’t think anyone in council would support us spending all this city money ourselves,” Coun. Grant Meyer said. “I’d like to see a P3 option made available to the right developer.”
Coun. Helen Fathers, the lone vote against the motion, described the situation as “unfortunate” and said she “couldn’t get past getting rid of the Semiahmoo Arts building and the mature trees and the dog park.”
“Losing those for me would be a sad case, because the community has worked hard to get those.”
Mayor Wayne Baldwin supported the motion, however, warned that the projected operating costs would pose a problem for the city.
“The capital costs are bad enough, but the operating costs are going to kill you,” Baldwin said. “I’m not prepared to accede a six per cent tax increase to have another arena.”
Semiahmoo Minor Hockey president Ian Maguire told Peace Arch News prior to Monday evening’s meeting that the organization was “disappointed” with the outcome of the report, but looking forward to exploring other options with both the City of White Rock and City of Surrey.
