MANITOUWADGE — Rain, rain, go away – and find another roof on which to play.
The Manitouwadge Community Centre is set to undergo a series of roof replacements due to water damage accrued in January following several days of rain.
Manitouwadge’s chief administrative officer, Florence Maclean, appeared at the town council meeting on April 10 and said TBT Engineering, an engineering consultancy firm in Thunder Bay, will oversee the project.
“We contacted TBT Engineering to come to Manitouwadge and have a look . . . and their recommendation is that we proceed immediately with a full roof replacement for the entire facility,” she said.
Specific problem areas that were identified in TBT Engineering’s assessment include the arena, library, and curling rink.
Once the tender is awarded, Maclean said she anticipates construction will take place over the course of this summer.
The water damage and subsequent work that is now needed interrupts renovations that were already in-progress at the Manitouwadge Public Library.
Maclean said she expects the library renovation to be on-hold anywhere between six to nine months.
With that in mind, she sought support from council to open a satellite location for the public library while roof construction takes place during the summer.
She also fielded concerns about the work to be done at the community centre – particularly, a question from Coun. Toni-Lynn Ruff regarding what areas of the community centre will still be usable, if any at all, while construction is ongoing.
“I still need to meet with TBT Engineering to identify what parts of the building can be used during the construction phase. They did prioritize the library so the library can potentially move back into that space as soon as possible,” Maclean said.
“And then, they would proceed with roof replacements for the arena as well as the curling rink and the rest of the building.”
In terms of where the library will be moving to in the meantime, Maclean said library staff reached out to the owners of Hallmark Square in Manitouwadge to inquire about leasing Unit 106 (located between Moosetrax and Studio 614) for a 12-month period.
Kayla Zotter, chair of the library board, and Tammy Langevin, chief executive officer of the library, aided in securing the new location.
The lease starts on April 15 and includes the potential for a six-month extension if the community centre roof replacements take longer than anticipated.
In her report to council, Maclean indicated that although there is some maintenance needed in the unit, it shouldn’t take very long for staff to make the new – albeit temporary – space their own.
“There are some minor upgrades required in the unit which municipal staff can undertake and the library staff will be able to set up the space as they deem appropriate following the minor upgrades,” she wrote.
The satellite library office is expected to open by mid-May.
All members of council agreed that opening a satellite office is the right move and expressed their enthusiasm – including Coun. Ruff.
“I think it’s an awesome idea to have a satellite location for the library. I know a lot of people are really missing having a library – I know the kids are, for sure – but a lot of adults use that as their only source of internet as well. I think it’s going to be really good to have the library back, even if it’s just a satellite location for now,” Ruff said.
Mayor Jim Moffat echoed Ruff’s sentiments and added that the new location will give the library an advantage in terms of visibility.
