The winter season brings more than just slippery roads and poor visibility.
Thanks to a buildup of heavy snow, the roof of an indoor skating rink in the village of Kelwood collapsed recently. Reportedly, the roof collapsed just an hour after children had used the rink to play.
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Although the building is insured, the village is looking to gather enough funds to pay for the damage, anticipating a deficit in the payout.
Rosedale councillor Duane Stewart told
CBC News that he received a call on January 14 from someone saying that the roof was now lying on the rink. Stewart also noted that the building had accumulated over 66 centimeters of snow on the roof in the weeks before it collapsed.
“The guys were getting ready to shovel it off but we didn’t get there quite soon enough,” he said.
According to reports, children left the rink around 4:30pm that day. An hour later, the roof came down.
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Stewart confirmed that no-one was injured when the structure collapsed.
The arena housing the rink was insured through the RM of Rosedale.
CBC News reported that an adjuster assessed what was left of the roof over the weekend.
“We don’t know where we’re at with insurance,” Stewart stated, worried if the community will be able to afford the repairs.
He estimates that the cost of repair would fall between $250,000 and $400,000, but depending on how much funding the council receives the community may have to hold a fundraiser to make up for the difference.
“It’s not a big building … we certainly hope we can have another,” Stewart mentioned.
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