Full floor replacement for Memorial Centre approved
Quicker, cheaper repair plan seen as too risky; council votes 9-2 to back project that will displace Lakers for their entire 2019 season
Council voted Monday night to replace the structurally unsound floor of the Peterborough Memorial Centre, at a cost of $3.5 million, rather than do localized repairs.
The vote was 9-2: Coun. Don Vassiliadis and
Coun. Keith Riel voted against the motion.
Vassiliadis said he’s interested in a new arena for the city — and that he’s concerned the PMC will become “a money pit” for council.
Coun. Keith Riel said it made no sense to invest in a new floor; he likened it to “putting money into an old car.”
“There’s going to be more expenses and more expenses,” he said. “How much lipstick can you put on a pig?”
About two years ago, spalling and cracking was noticed in the concrete floor and the south wall of the 62-year-old PMC.
City staff heard from structural engineer George Carvajal that the floor was structurally unsound.
The plan is to replace the floor, starting in June, for completion in November.
But the replacement is going to mean the Century 21 Lakers, who won the Mann Cup this year, will have to be displaced for their whole 2019 season. They will have to play elsewhere, perhaps at the Evinrude Centre.
Earlier this year, the Lakers urged council to get a second opinion about whether the floor could be repaired rather than replaced — and council got that second opinion, from a Toronto firm called Entuitive.
Entuitive recommended a new steel frame for the floor.
While city staff says that frame would cost $250,000, the total cost for the repairs would be $1 million (they’d also need to spend $400,000 for new
dasher boards — as required by the OHL for player safety — plus design costs and contingencies).
City staff didn’t recommend repair, however, because repairs would leave fragile 1950s pipes in the floor that could leak and fail at any time, requiring a full floor replacement.
Yet on Monday, Entuitive engineer Dave Watson was at City Hall and told councillors the repairs could safely be done.
“We feel it (a repair) is constructible — with care — around the pipes,” he said.
He also told council that the repair would likely hold for five to 10 years.
Tim Barrie, who has represented the junior and senior Century 21 Lakers, urged council on Monday to consider other solutions that to displace the Lakers for a season.
“Let’s not gamble with the most successful lacrosse franchise in Canada,” he said.
But George Carvajal, the principal at Carvajal Structural Engineers Inc. of Toronto, who had recommended a floor replacement to the city, also spoke to council.
“The repair will be extremely challenging,” he said. “You guys don’t realize the mess you will get yourselves into… It’s a horrendous task.”
Most councillors said it’s too risky to do the repairs.
Coun. Andrew Beamer said his main concern is that it will take far longer than six to 10 years before a replacement arena for the PMC is built — and the PMC needs to be functional in the meantime.
Coun. Dean Pappas said he was concerned about the tenants of the building.
“We’re the landlords — we have a responsibility,” he said, adding that engineers are telling them a wall is crumbling.
“I do think we have to do the right thing.… We have a building we have to look after,” he said.
Coun. Kim Zippel said she also supports the idea of replacing the floor.
“As much as I commend the Lakers and their efforts to do all the research, I just feel it would be irresponsible,” she said. “In good conscience, I can’t go with any recommendation to repair.”
Coun. Kemi Akapo said she wants the floor replaced too because it’s fiscally responsible to do so.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility,” she reminded council.
Coun. Henry Clarke said he’d hoped there was a way to spend less — and keep the arena operating.
“But you know — there isn’t,” he said.
The crumbling south wall repair is one issue, Clarke said — but the pipes and brine systems could fail at any time.
“Better that we be proactive and control the repair… than to be scrambling,” he said.
Coun. Gary Baldwin said he “reluctantly” supported the idea of a floor replacement.
Even though council is pouring money into “a tired, tired old building,” and he would like a “modern, new building.”
He said it’s unfortunate councillors want to do a pricey floor replacement to a “tired, tired old building,” and he wants to see a new OHL arena soon, he voted in favour of the floor replacement.
‘‘ There’s going to be more expenses and more expenses. How much lipstick can you put on a pig? COUN. KEITH RIEL one of two city councillors to vote against the Peterborough Memorial Centre floor replacement decision