A Barrhead Curling Club delegation had some good and bad news to report to town councillors during their Jan. 23 meeting.
The good news is that the club has agreed to equally share the estimated $22,000 construction cost of a recently completed storage shed.
Councillors approved the club’s request for a storage shed in June as part of a construction project, to help solve a potential flooding issue, which sometimes happens in the spring when water from melting snow was entering the building underneath a sliding door. In March, the curling club had to call its season short due to flooding.
The bad news is club members have noticed that the roof is leaking. Members reported a similar problem last season at the town-owned building and an engineer’s report done in the summer identified poor ventilation to be the cause. In July, councillors earmarked $40,000 to fix the ventilation issues.
“We are here to get an update on where we are on this. We haven’t been able to get a straight answer on what has been done,” said club president Grant Balen. “We have heard a rumour that passive [non-powered] whirlybirds have been installed, but whatever has been done hasn’t totally rectified the issue.”
Chief administrative officer Martin Taylor confirmed five whirlybirds were recently installed, but noted much of the work identified in the engineering report to solve the ventilation issue has not been completed, at the request of the curling club. “The club didn’t want dust, moisture and other items that might fall on the ice during construction, so it was postponed.”
As an interim measure, recreation staff has installed poly plastic along the walls and ceiling to catch any moisture drops before they hit the ice.
He added the other issue that has delayed some of the work is the weather, noting there have been periods when the temperature has varied as much as 35 degrees in a relatively short period.
Balen asked, in addition to the passive whirlybirds, what other work is planned.
“I believe they wanted to put a ventilation fan near the mechanical room, which is something that normally isn’t done, so we have to have more discussions with the contractor before he completes his work,” Taylor said.
Club treasurer Dean Rau said while he appreciates the effort the town has put in, he is frustrated that once again members are faced with playing the remainder of the season looking at poly plastic.
“Here we are doing it again and we have to cross our fingers and hope it doesn’t get worse,” he said, adding club members are also frustrated with the inability to get answers from town staff regarding the status of repairs.
Rau said in the last few weeks they made inquiries to director of public works director Brant Ross as well as Taylor with no response.
Taylor said he and Ross just recently returned from vacation, noting that is part of the reason why the club has not received a response. He also suggested, in the future, that they talk to parks and recreation staff, most notably, director Shallon Touet, as recreation facilities fall under their umbrella.
Balen then asked for the town’s help in snow removal on 57 Avenue, the street that runs behind the curling rink Agrena and aquatic centre, in an effort to avoid a repeat of last year’s flooding.
“I realize the town has a bigger plan to address the problem, but we realize it will not be complete by the spring so anything you can do to help with the snow build up behind there would be appreciated,” he said.
In July, council approved phase one of plan to solve the ongoing drainage problem that involves the installation of a concrete pad along the north side of the building running east and west.
“Absolutely. We are aware of the issues back there,” Taylor said, adding drainage in the area has been an ongoing issue for years. “Last year it was compounded because we had limited access due to the construction of the aquatic centre.”
