Those long-rumoured upgrades to Arnprior’s Nick Smith Centre are a giant step closer to reality.
At a Special Meeting of Town Council last night (July 22nd), elected representatives voted unanimously to award the job to Frecon Construction Ltd, a Russell firm that’s on a roll with rink building- having done four in the past five years.
The firm also built École élémentaire catholique des Deux-Rivières on Baskin Drive on-budget and ahead of schedule.
Tenders closed July 16th of this year.
Frecon was the low bidder among eight firms that responded to tender, and the job estimate is $6,293,000 plus HST.
Two years of contributions will come from the Town’s capital budget, and the remaining cost debentured over a ten-year period.
Work will include replacing the rink slabs, which have exceeded projected life by 22 years already, as well as connected piping infrastructure, and the associated surface amenities of boards, flooring and reconfigured stands.
There will be new storage rooms, office space and a pro shop.
Added to the original design, which was completed by Architecture 49, are the replacement of three compressors and two audience rink heaters.
Construction will knock both rinks out-of-service for substantial periods in 2025. The Glenn Arthur Area will close February 17th and resume September 8th. The Bert Hall Area will shut down March 17th and be back up October 14th.
Ice time needed during that period is being arranged with neighbouring arenas.
By Rick Stow