By William Lin
Millions of dollars are needed within the next decade to keep Centretown’s public buildings operational, according to a city report tabled this month.
The McNabb Arena and Community Centre, Jack Purcell Community Centre, Fire Station 11 on Preston Street and City Hall all require replacements and repairs.
In total, $1.2-billion is required to keep fire stations, community centres, parking garages and swimming pools operational across the city, the report stated.
Pierre Jolicoeur, city manager of comprehensive management, who is responsible for the overview, says the money must be in the next city budget.
“If it doesn’t get done, the cost of repair will worsen. If you leave things unattended, it’s possible there will be a situation of unknown closures, situations that will affect programs. You don’t want to get to that point,” he said.
City staff released an Oct. 4 report, titled the Long Range Financial Plan II, which outlines the money needed for “life-cycle maintenance” — meaning the replacement and upkeep of city buildings.
City officials stress that the proposal is not about revamping or adding new infrastructure, but setting aside money for future replacements.
The Jack Purcell Centre, which opened in 1974, is located on Elgin Street and needs nearly $300,000 in the next three years, the report concluded. This money could be used to fix up the canopy that joins the pool and adjacent school, and the main basin of the pool, replacing tiles and concrete.
“You can see after 30 years, there are requirements. The interior finishes are wearing out,” says Jolicoeur, calling the proposed upkeep “planned replacements, to get ahead of the game.”
A lifeguard at the centre said that although the pool isn’t dirty, “it is dingy.” He said he wouldn’t mind seeing the tiles replaced and having the bathroom floors leveled, as it often floods, leaving him to clean up the mess.
The McNabb Centre needs an estimated $330,000 within the next five years, one-third of which would be used to replace the central boiler. And at the McNabb Arena, the old score clock and the glass around the arena both need replacing, Jolicoeur says.
The roof and air-conditioning system need to be replaced at the Preston fire station, costing an estimated $120,000.
Major repairs and roof replacements are also proposed for City Hall — which opened in 1993 — and the Teachers College.
City council has underfunded the lifecycle program for the past decade, says Robert Vaillancourt, city manager of design and construction.
He says the city should renew its older properties or get rid of them before building new ones.
“We have to pay more attention to get politicians to understand what it takes to renew our buildings. To be able to be responsible for the stuff we already have.”
For example, if a community centre’s furnace breaks down because it didn’t get replaced, it could take up to three months to get a replacement, Vaillancourt said. As a result, all the programs running in the centre would have to be shut down until it is fixed.
The city has underfunded the upkeep of infrastructure by up to $80 million per year, the report states.
Vaillancourt says federal and provincial governments, universities and colleges also need more money for building renewal.
But Jolicoeur says that as long as city council pays attention to the problems, it will not reach crisis level.
“It will be different . . . (city council) is on the right path.”