WATSON 鈥� Roof repairs, washroom renovations and emergency exit doors replacements are a few renovations happening at the Watson Arena, which received funding from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
Through the program, the Government of Canada is investing $122,000 into the arena, the province is investing almost $102,000, and the Town of Watson will be responsible for covering around $81,000.
Lani Rae Best, Watson鈥檚 administrator, said the renovations should extend the lifespan of the facility.
鈥淚 just think the arena is so much a centre in your community,鈥� Best said. 鈥淭o be able to have the assistance to do these kinds of renovations and improvements to our facility is just a wonderful opportunity for Watson.鈥�
The renovations are currently in the design stage, with the goal set to have the facility fully upgraded by the next skating season.
Work includes adjusting the Zamboni access doors onto and off the ice, which currently involves manually placing a ramp.
Best said these changes mean improved safety for users of the facility.
鈥淭he doors don鈥檛 really function very well, especially in the winter, which is a problem,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to fix those backdoors so in an emergency we can get the Zamboni out and onto the ice surface, and we鈥檙e also going to add an exterior door to the Zamboni room.鈥�
The emergency exit doors throughout the facility will also be replaced. While they function effectively as exit doors, Best said their seals have deteriorated bringing the possibility of mice entering as well as intruders.
Part of the renovations includes upgrading the washroom by replacing all unfinished raw wood surfaces with non-porous surfaces.
Best said the porous surfaces presented such a problem for ensuring cleanliness, that through the pandemic, the town had to shut down one of the washrooms out of sanitization concerns.
鈥淩aw wood is really hard to clean, but if you have something like good smooth paint, a hard surface that your bacteria can鈥檛 get into it鈥檚 much easier to clean that,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be improving the sanitizing ability in all the dressing rooms 鈥� there are washrooms in there. Just making sure that surfaces are clean, and non-porous.鈥�
