An inspection on the Nancy Appleby Theatre and surrounding buildings shows repairs are in much greater need than previously thought.
The inspection was completed this month by Spruce View Services on the Athabasca Performing Arts Centre (APAC) buildings – the Nancy Appleby Theatre, Alice B. Donahue Library and Old Brick School – and was initiated by the Athabasca Regional Multiplex Society (ARMS).
The report included 27 recommendations, 22 of which are listed as “immediate” priorities.
At the Aug. 21 ARMS meeting, Multiplex manager Dustin Pysyk presented the inspection’s findings.
“The biggest ones he sees … is our landscaping. It all needs to be redone. All the flower beds, the trees and stuff (are) affecting the foundations of our buildings,” he said, adding that another priority is electrical work in the non-public areas, such as the basement and the attic.
Pysyk said he would be getting together with Edwin Parr Composite School’s new drama teacher, Colin Byers, to “toss” props from the basement of the theatre.
“They basically rack up a ton of storage, and it’s now becoming an issue. We need to make decision on what we are able to keep down there and what we should be getting rid of,” he said.
Pysyk added local drama groups would have some input in what gets tossed.
The inspection followed a discussion about roof and sidewalk repairs at the June 19 ARMS meeting.
Town of Athabasca Mayor Roger Morrill voted against approving sidewalk and roof repairs for $31,000, saying rather than having a “knee-jerk reaction” the society should arrange a professional inspection and create a comprehensive plan before moving ahead.
The recommendations range from being “minor” in cost to “major”– such as landscaping, replacing gable roof covering and repair of water penetration.
Pysyk said the question posed to the society now is whether to tackle the repairs immediately or do it next year.
Town Coun. Shelly Gurba said she would like to see the landscaping done this year. Morrill said with 22 items being identified by a qualified inspector as immediate, it is the society’s “judiciary responsibility” to act.
County Coun. Warren Griffin agreed and said the repairs are not in the Multiplex’s budget and the society may need assistance from the town and county.
Gurba said it would be best to get some prices on the repairs and made a motion to price out the repairs and create a priority list. Morrill asked if the inspector provided rough costs for the repairs, and Pysyk said he did not.
“These are marked immediate and the rest are marked three months. I’m not going to go against what a professional said,” Morrill said. “No difference with a legal opinion. When I get a legal opinion I either abide by it, or I take that legal opinion on my shoulders and I am responsible for this. I am not willing to be responsible for this.”
Gurba later amended her motion, so the wording was for administration to get estimates on the work and set a priority list on the repairs. The motion passed unanimously.
In an interview, Griffin said the APAC buildings are not falling apart, but work has been put off.
“In my opinion, the Multiplex has been concerned with keeping the deficits down and has not put maintenance as the highest priority,” he said.
When asked if the repairs could lead to usage rate increases, Griffin said he thinks a review of rates “is probably on the horizon.”
“You can’t expect the municipalities necessarily have to pick up the whole bill, and I think users need to take some responsibility for that as well,” he said.
Pysyk said in an interview money was spent on the APAC buildings, “but did we spend it in the right places?”
“Now we have to sit down and come up with a maintenance program,” Pysyk said.
Gurba said previous councils should have been investigating APAC maintenance in a lot more detail.
“That facility has been around for a number of years and there should have been some sort of routine maintenance, which was not happening,” she said. “At least this society has made this a high priority to deal with it.”
