The City of Parksville will chip in $120,000 to replace a rooftop heater and a condenser at the curling arena.
Council voted unanimously to assist the Parksville Curling Club, which operates the building owned by the city since early 2021, when ownership was transferred from the Regional District of Nanaimo.
Club president Tony Reinsch said that although the condenser was in good working order, Technical Safety BC noted the unit was nearing the end of its "nameplate life expectancy" during an annual inspection this fall.
The curling club has raised a considerable amount of money to put towards the replacements, according to Jedha Holmes, director of finance for the city.
“They were coming with $65,000 in funding towards that project and so the net amount that would need to be funded from the city is $120,000," she said during council's Nov. 18 meeting, and added the city's portion could be drawn from the capital reserve.
Council also carried a motion to form a capital working committee with representatives from the city and the club to negotiate a capital financing strategy for future costs.
“I think the curling club, they’ve done a fantastic job over the years," said Coun. Adam Fras. "The amount of fundraising and they put in new equipment to the tune of over $300,000, not many years ago.”
Mayor Doug O'Brien added that although the building is quite old, it still has "good bones".
“I believe the building itself is structurally good and is worthy of investing in,” O'Brien said.
Under the building's current five-year lease, the curling club is not eligible for capital grant funding from federal, provincial or municipal sources, Reinsch told council.
To qualify, the lease would need to be at least 10 years, he added, but the city is not able to provide a building lease longer than five years within the community park, due to a codicil granting the park lands to the city.
“A 10-year lease would allow us to apply for capital grants," Reinsch said. "Right now we can apply for operating grants, which we pursue vigorously to help with our operation expenses”
The club also raises revenue by renting the arena for activities such as pickleball, celebrations of life and markets.
The club currently has approximately 750 members, according to Reinsch, and has added 430 members since 2020.
