Wellesley to apply infrastructure grant to roof repair

$100K worth of repairs and upgrades at St. Clements arena paid by province

REPAIRS AND UPGRADES TO THE roof of the St. Clements arena will be funded in part by $100,000 in infrastructure money received by Wellesley Township. Meeting Tuesday nights, councillors selected that project as the outlet for the grant.

The funding is coming jointly from the provincial and federal governments under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris last month announced some $8 million had been earmarked for Waterloo Region, with Woolwich Township receiving $279,747 and Wellesley to get $100,000. The money was to be used for shovel-ready projects.

Staff ultimately decided that upgrading the St. Clements arena roof, a project that was slated for 2023, should be moved up to next year thanks to the ICIP funding. The work will be similar to the repairs carried out last year at the Wellesley arena, though without the threat of the shutdown seen there.

With the Wellesley arena, council opted to spend almost $250,000 to put a rubber membrane on the roof to help prevent further damage the structure. Previously, water had seeped into the insulation, leading to a potentially dangerous situation that prompted the facility’s closure.

A 2019 engineering report found there was minor deterioration to the St. Clements arena roof, but nothing to the extent of the damage at the township’s other arena.

One leak has needed to be repaired, but recreation director Danny Roth said that would be a preventative measure that should

be undertaken for the good of the arena.

“We were never in this situation in the St. Clements arena roof that we were in the Wellesley arena roof, by no means. This is more of a preventative maintenance thing, so we don’t ever get to that step,” he said.

The newly approved project will be carried out to extend the life of the arena because the coating on the roof of St. Clements is the same as in Wellesley, with the township being cautious, Roth explained.

Given the experience in Wellesley, Mayor Joe Nowak asked during Tuesday night’s council session whether they would get the same 10 year warranty on the repair.

Roth said it would depend on the coating they went with and they have yet to put out tenders for the project. That process would also provide the township with firmer costing for the project. Applying the $100,000 from ICIP, the township would then pay for the remainder from a recreation facilities reserve fund.