The Estevan Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs and the Estevan city council have come to an arrangement to mitigate the damage to the concrete surface for the outdoor rink at the Kin Hillside Playpark.
Estevan city council approved the $65,000 project at Monday night’s meeting. The concrete at the park will be resurfaced with a three-inch thick fortified lift for $58,000. There will also be a $7,000 cost to remove and reattach the rink boards so that the the concrete surface beneath the boards can be exposed.
A new concrete pad would cost about $150,000.
In his report to council, parks and facilities manager Rod March said the problems with the concrete became apparent in the spring of 2018 when spalling occurred. The facility had been open for less than a year.
March said he spoke with the then-president of the Kinsmen club and provided information on what was happening to the surface. At the time, March said he informed the club the cost to repair the damage would be approximately $50,000.
“The Kinsmen sought the advice from the original in-kind concrete supplier/installer, who subsequently patched some areas of the surface; the patches failed within a few months and the problem is getting worse,” he said.
Water is coming to the surface from the top one or two inches of the finished concrete, which pops the finished layer off.
“The only way to do it now to combat it is to take that top surface off and reglue a new surface to it. But it’s not a maintenance issue at all. It’s product,” March said.
March said the city receives negative feedback on this issue, although they were not involved in the process of construction. The Kinsmen and Kinettes now want to work with the city to bring the facility back to an appropriate standard.
“We know they do a tonne of good work over there in that park, and we just want to help out, and get this back to where it should be,” said March.
The park is a city facility, March said, and he believes it is in the best interest of all parties to find a solution that will work for the long-term.
“Leaving the surface as it is will result in frustration by many and ultimately an unusable facility,” said March.
Estevan Kinsmen Club president Preston Majeran and Estevan Kinette Club president Robyn Majeran attended Monday’s meeting, and voiced their desire to rectify the situation.
“We want to do a proper job. We want to give the city assets that they’re proud of, that they can put up on the websites and everything to show off exactly what we can do,” said Preston Majeran.
After about 15 minutes of discussion, council agreed to cover the full cost of the repairs. March’s report recommended the Kin clubs pay back 50 per cent of the cost over seven years, which the Kin clubs were will to do. But Councillor Lyle Yanish suggested that council cover the full cost, without repayment, so that the Kinsmen and Kinettes can continue with upgrades to the park.
“That’s going to take a while to pay back,” Yanish said. “Us as a city, I know it’s our asset anyways. It was an oops. So for the next seven years, is nothing else going to be raised to go from the Kinsmen to go back into that park?”
Robyn Majeran said the Kin clubs still have a lot of work to do in the park.
“We would like to possibly do something with the paddling pool, the play equipment that’s there, keeping it up to date and possibly doing something with the rubber, sealing it,” said Robyn Majeran.
Councillor Shelly Veroba said that when the outdoor rink was under construction, the city knew it would eventually be responsible for the project. She noted this isn’t the first time an asset has been turned over to the city that eventually required repairs.
“At least this one we have a group to work with. Sometimes it’s happened and there is no group to work with, and then we’re stuck with fixing it or whatever has to be done at the taxpayers’ cost.”
Veroba suggested that in the future, if a group wants to undertake a project such as a park and then turn it over to the city, that the city gets some say so that standards are met.
Mayor Roy Ludwig compared this situation to Padwick Park, which required major work shortly after it opened in 2015.
Veroba noted there are still issues to be addressed at Padwick Park, such as wood chips beneath playground equipment that cause slivers.
Preston Majeran pointed out that for the Kinsmen and Kinettes, this is their home park, and they use money from their Christmas parties to fundraise for the site.
“This is our baby. We do fundraisers specifically for the park. We are coming up with new ideas due to COVID. We just want to fix it and make it great.”
Ludwig said he is pleased to have resolution for this issue.
“We are assured that the contractor that comes in, the job will be a finished job, and one that will last for many, many years,” he said.
Council also recognized that this is a difficult time for organizations such as the Kinsmen and Kinettes to attempt to fundraise.
“So that’s why council thought ‘You know what? We’ll shoulder the weight of that cost so that they can start fundraising for some of the other things.’”
The outdoor arena is a year-round sports and recreation facility. It has been popular for ice hockey and skating in the winter, and basketball, ball hockey and roller derby in the summer.
The repair work is scheduled to happen in September, once the temperatures have cooled off.
