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Wednesday, July 17, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Ready for BCNE BCNE summer students Jacqueline Spendiff and Katie Beck sand some display shelving that will be stained in preparation for this years’ BCNE event, that takes place Aug. 15-18.

owner describes New RMCA raised as possibility Cabin encounter with squatter Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

A new Rolling Mix Concrete Arena could be the next major projects in the city’s job jar. According to a staff report and presentation considered by council on Monday night, the now 61-year-old arena will need between $9 million and $11.5 million worth of work over the next decade to keep it in proper condition. “The HVAC system and the floor replacements add up to over $3.5 million alone,” staff said in the report. “Some of the water piping in the foundation has failed recently and it is unknown whether the floor of the arena will last another five to 10 years.” Moreover, staff said the RMCA’s ice plants will eventually have their chillers replaced with smaller units that use less ammonia and so consume less energy and are safer. The cost of that work is still to be determined. Over the last 10 years, the city has spent $1.8 million on projects like replacing the roof and upgrading the exterior at RMCA. Given the facility’s age and the cost of that work, “options for decommissioning or replacing this facility should be explored instead of investing in renovations,” engineering and public works general manager Dave Dyer said in a separate brief to council. Staff estimated cost of a new RCMA at $29 million. Borrowing that amount will mean taking the item to voters, likely in the form of an alternative approval process. Under an AAP, voters who op-

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killed in police standoff Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Rolling Mix Concrete Arena will need up to $11.5 million worth of renovations over the coming decade, according to a report presented to city council. pose the project would have to submit elector response forms and if they add up to 10 per cent of the city’s electorate, the proposal would either be scrapped or taken to a full-blown referendum that would require at least half of those who cast ballots to be in favour for the project to go ahead. According to the report, the city will need to spend between $4 million and $4.6 million per year over the next decade to keep its facilities up to grade depending on whether only critical ones get the attention or work on interior doors, windows, flooring, walls, ceilings and stairs are included. Critical work includes electrical, fire protection, HVAC, plumbing, roofs and exterior walls.

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The bill would be over and above the $2.8 million per year in the city’s fiveyear capital plan for the city’s building systems renewal work. Over the last 10 years, $1.7 million was spent annually on that type of work, council was told. Mayor Lyn Hall said the $11.5 million figure for RMCA is “staggering.” “And I know that every year we invest a tremendous amount of dollars into that particular facility and we’re going to start to see more and more of that as our facilities age, so thanks for bringing that one up in particular,” Hall told staff. “I think it really sets the tone for what we’re dealing with.” The item was forwarded to council’s finance and audit committee.

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Tug company fined for spill

A Valemount man told a coroner’s inquest Tuesday about finding John Robert Buehler unexpectedly squatting in the trapper’s cabin he owned in the days prior to a police standoff that would end in his death. Milton Balon said he had shown up during the late night of Sept. 7, 2014 intending to stay over at the cabin about 60 kilometres south of Valemount only to find the lock on the gate across the driveway had been changed. “And I look up and I see this guy coming down with a flashlight,” Balon said. “And I said ‘who are you’ and he says, ‘my name’s John.’” At that point Balon said he knew who he was dealing with. “I knew exactly who he was when he said his name,” Balon told the inquest. It just so happened that one of Balon’s neighbours was among the people Buehler had confronted about three months before when he and his daughter, Shanna, had parked their RV at Camp Creek, a community recreation area about 10 kilometres outside of town. According to the Rocky Mountain Goat, the two had taken over the local recreation club’s picnic area and log cabin and had blocked a public trail. He politely refused to leave when first approached by club members and a few days later, he unleashed his German shepherd dogs on a pair of horseback riders. RCMP were called in and a four-hour standoff ensued with Buehler using the dogs as a shield while his daughter begged him to surrender. — see BALON, page 3

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