Just three days after announcing the facility would be closing due to concerns for public safety, Rocky View County council has voted to keep the Chestermere Recreation Centre open, according to a news release from the county on Friday.
Council voted on Tuesday to close the centre “after an engineering report questioned the structural integrity of parts of the building and the county was served with an infraction letter from a City of Chestermere safety codes officer.”
Since then, the county said officials have been working with the building’s operators, stakeholders and engineering officials to see whether the facility could stay open without being a risk to public safety.
“At a special council meeting, councillors were told by engineers that a failure of the roof over the facility’s red rink could be mitigated,” the county said on Friday. “Council was further assured that the rest of the facility would not be impacted by any issues with the red rink.”
The facility — which was slated to close at 5 p.m. on Friday — will now stay open, but the building’s operator, the Chestermere Regional Community Association (CRCA), has to implement a snow monitoring and removal program.
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“Council was assured the program could be put in place immediately, which allows the facility to remain open,” the county said.
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The CRCA, which originally took issue with the county’s decision, said it would continue its mitigation program which includes a snow load monitoring program if significant snow falls.
“We look forward to working with Rocky View County and the City of Chestermere to ensure our facility continues to operate safely and serve as a recreation destination for the residents of Chestermere and surrounding areas,” the association said in a news release.
“I am delighted that Rocky View County Council have decided to reopen the facility and allow for full operations while not compromising public safety with an effective snow monitoring program,” Chalmers said.
“We look forward to operations resuming back to normal in due course. This is a step in the right direction.”
Chalmers said he will be personally engaged on the file and keep both public safety and programs a priority.
“While my role throughout this ordeal has been an advocate for common sense, it has become clear to me that the City of Chestermere, Rocky View County and the Recreation Association need to continue our dialogue about how to best provide quality recreation services to our residents and the types of facilities and costs to make that a reality,” he said.
A rally that had been scheduled earlier this week to protest the shut down of the centre still went ahead as planned.
At its height, roughly 60 people came out to the centre to show support for the facility and highlight the importance of the centre to the community.
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