Inflated Cost of Building Materials Impacts Project

Unsuccessful Trillium Application Means No Elevator

Article by John Campbell

Warkworth - Mon., Nov. 28, 2022 - The company that built the Warkworth arena in 1976 and replaced its roof in 2009 will also renovate it at a cost of $1,659,770.

Bel-Con Design-Builders Ltd., of Belleville, was the only builder to submit a proposal for the project, which involves removing two dressing rooms to create a larger lobby area and adding four new dressing rooms. The reconfiguration of the lobby includes adding larger viewing windows. The ice resurfacer room will be relocated as well.

A plan put together for Trent Hills three years ago had originally called for an elevator to be installed at the arena to provide access to the second floor and for renovations to be carried out in the auditorium on the upper level.

However, both had to be cut from the project when the municipality’s application for $490,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation was unsuccessful.

Trent Hills did get approval for $600,000 from FedDev Ontario’s Canada Community Revitalization Fund, leaving it with almost $1,060,000 to shoulder as its share of the overall cost. The money will come from two reserves and the Flourish campaign.

The 2019 study had estimated the project would cost $800,000. Community Recreation Officer Peter Burnett said in a report to council Nov. 22 that many factors contributed to the cost ramping up, among them “the economic situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic” and “the inflated cost of building materials.”

The arena’s redesign had been commissioned by Trent Hills “to allow for more accessibility for the community and provide additional space to improve the function of the facility,” he wrote.