Agriplex refuses to die quietly
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Updated: November 18, 2009 7:38 AM
The 100 Mile House Agriplex might still come back to life.
Late last month, the District of 100 Mile House closed the facility for safety reasons and the Rotary Club turned the building back to the Cariboo Regional District (CRD).
Now, user groups are banding together to try and save the facility for the short term and fundraise for a new facility in the long term.
Carmon Wannop represented those user groups at the South Cariboo Joint Committee (District of 100 Mile House and CRD politicians) meeting Nov. 9.
Wannop said the groups have studied seven engineering reports on the Agriplex. She noted cost estimates to renovate the old
arena were prohibitive, but all were predicated on using the building as a hockey rink.
She said leaks in the roof wouldn’t be safe for hockey players, but don’t affect horseback riding; the existing lighting, which is substandard for hockey, would be fine for what their groups need.
One huge issue with the building, as identified in the latest engineering report, was the need to remove part of the building to the fourth arch and construct a new north end wall.
Wannop told the meeting the user groups already had an estimate of $100,000 to tear down that front section.
“We’re all fully aware of what needs to be done and wish it was done five years ago but, unfortunately, it wasn’t.”
CRD board chair Al Richmond asked how the groups could raise the funds when Rotary walked away from the Agriplex after five years.
Wannop appeared confident that funding could be accessed through a number of sources, including 4-H, Agriculture Canada, the Horse Council and by selling memberships.
She added local contractors and engineers are willing to donate their time to make the necessary repairs to the building.
The user groups want a further engineering report to determine if there are further problems that would need to be addressed before the building was safe to use, Wannop explained.
