Dawson Should have Winter Recreation Centre by Dan Davidson Barring any further unforeseen misadventures, there will be an arena in Dawson City this winter. That was the assurance from Trustee Ray Hayes at the October 5 public meeting of his advisory committee. Hayes was responding to concerns expressed by Miriam Kaytor, the spokesperson for the ad-hoc recreation center user group. The group has been assembled since it became clear that the newly vacant position of recreation director for the town was not being filled, and also in response to a possible need to organize and staff an outdoor rink. Hayes had committed earlier to do whatever possible to keep the arena open. The leaks in the roof structure which were noted as far back as the original transfer of the building to the City of Dawson had, it appeared, resulted in the saturation of the interior insulation , the weight of which had damaged the ceiling and placed strain on the purlins, beams and supports. The building was closed prematurely in March after two winter seasons of operation, but reopened again in the summer with a time limit that was essentially extended to the first serious snowfall. This was the situation at the previous public meeting. Since then the roof envelope specialists recommended by the engineering firm of Fast & Epp had been to see the building, Hayes said, and work had been done to make it useable. “The exterior part of the roof is essentially finished,” he said. “The cross braces for support are being ... fabricated and there are a bunch of clips that have to be attached for everything to be tied together.” Work on the insulation was expected to take up to ten days. After an inspection, which Hayes expects to pass, the arena should be available. The surface is natural ice, made on top of a waterproof liner laid down on the plywood above the insulation which is supposed to be assisting in restoring the permafrost under the building so that someday a cement floor can be poured. In the meantime, the only delay in making the ice surface would be the weather, which has to be cold enough to freeze the water. Since the George Black Ferry is still in the Yukon River past the date it was originally scheduled to be pulled, and most of the snow lately has been accompanied or followed by drizzle, freeze-up could be down the road a ways yet, as it has been several times in the last decade, even in the old arena. Hayes expected the arena to be cleared for occupancy by November, but there has seldom been ice before December any way. “Not being God I can’t give you a guarantee on that because we could run into some other unforeseen problems.” The work is all being done to the engineer’s specifications by a “licensed, certified roofing person”, Hayes said, though that rather begs the question of why things weren’t constructed properly in the first place. There may still be a need to monitor the snow load and keep the roof cleaned off, Hayes told former town councillor Shirley Pennell. “There will be a system put up there to provide for safety when somebody’s up there cleaning the snow.” Hayes said this was a short term fix, because the longer term needs to be dealt with by the architects and contractors who built the place, and some of these resolutions are tied up in a court case which has yet to be fought. Problems with the roof were so obvious that the arbitrator removed any consideration of it from the hearing which took place a year ago to settle grievances between the City of Dawson and TSL Contracting. Hayes said the main problem he faced now was how to pay for what was being done at this time. City manager David Skidd indicated that the town had the support of the Yukon government at this time, “but we don’t have the money.” “That’s what I was going to say,” Hayes continued. “Lots of support, but not a lot of this.” He rubbed his forefinger and thumb together in common gesture which means “money”. “We will get there.” Hayes also addressed the issue of rec department staff cuts, saying that people should not expect to see any significant change in programs as a result of this. He would not confirm rumours that there were discussions being carried out with a former member of the staff on this issue. “I’m sure none of you would want reported at a public meeting any offers that may or may not have been made.” | 
