DAWSON CITY – The conclusion of slightly over half an hour’s debate by Dawson council on Dec. 19 was the following resolution:

“That council direct staff to develop a work plan to redesign the proposed new City of Dawson Recreation Centre within a $65-million capital budget.”

This must mean that the replacement for the current ailing facility will not be the Cadillac version citizens had hoped to see.

This is the result of an admission by council that the two-storey facility that has been proposed during what Coun. Julia Spriggs characterized as the “dreaming phase” over the last three years is not within the town’s financial reach.

It was recently revealed that the currrent cost estimate has topped $100 million.

Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn advised the Star on Dec. 14 that the government does not plan to augment the $65 million it has set aside for the project.

The need to replace the current Art and Margaret Fry Recreation Centre remains a reality, as the administration’s briefing note details:

“The City of Dawson has been pursuing the construction of a new recreation centre for many years as the existing recreation centre, which contains an ice rink, a curling rink, and a concession area, has faced structural problems since its construction.”

From the foundation issues to the roof envelope, the building has been a disappointment and a drain on the town’s resources since within months after it was opened nearly two dozen years ago. There were construction issues that were never resolved.

On the other hand, the original form of the resolution proposed by the town’s administration did go into more detail than the final form.

It called for the required plan to support “an ice hockey arena (replacing the existing structure); a two-lane curling arena (replacing the existing structure); concession facilities (replacing the existing facilities); and recreation programming space (if possible within the capital budget).”

Council members were reluctant to even go that far, given that the combined territorial and federal money committed to the project is $65 million.

There is some urgency in deciding to move ahead within that budget, since “this funding is dependent on existing federal funding programs and there is some concern that the identified funding programs may change in the fall of 2024 with less focus on recreational infrastructure.

“The current Class C estimate for the facility council would have liked to build is $95.1 million, leaving the town to try to find an additional $30 million for construction, a sum that seems to be unattainable.”

Up to this point, planning for the new rec centre has involved picking a new location (a muddled process that ate up two years).

It also involved deciding what activities it should support, eliminating thoughts of a new pool, and adding some form of gymnasium space, to replace what has been lost by the reallocation of recreational space at the Robert Service School.

The administration’s notes answer many of the questions that arise when looking at the current state of the project.

Why not just fix the existing centre?

“The existing rec centre is failing structurally and poses a financial challenge as costs increase, an operational challenge as failure will result in a lack of service, and a safety challenge.”

Why has the replacement cost jumped so much?

“It is frustrating that a great deal of work has been done to date on the current configuration.

“Prior to the recent escalation of construction costs, it was reasonable to think that $65 million in capital funding would build more than an arena and curling rink and it was a reasonable process to go through the consultation/ design/costing process which identified the financial scale of the project.”

Why is it essential to make a decision to go ahead with reducing the scale of the new rec centre at this time?

“Now, with cost estimates in hand, council and funders can make decisions based on what the desired product has included at this point.

“The reality of the funding programs dictates that additional capital will not be coming from the Yukon government and the currently committed funding is at risk if the project does not go forward now.”

As proposed, the new facility was going to cost substantially more to run: $1.5 million annually, up from the current $1.2 million – which was likely to necessitate a tax increase.

It’s worth noting that users outside the town’s boundaries, either down the Klondike Valley or across the Yukon River, are not part of the town’s tax base.

The new resolution will likely produce a plan similar to the Option A offered to council some months back. This plan merely replaced the existing rec centre facilities and added a gym.

The preferred plan was Option B, which added a second floor, with a fitness centre, running track, and curling lounge. Planning proceeded to develop this option.

Downsizing expectations “will result in a replacement of like infrastructure, and is more likely to contain operating cost increases which will have a direct impact on the taxpayer.”

The resolution, moved by Mayor Bill Kendrick and seconded by Spriggs, passed by a recorded vote of 4 to 1, with Coun. Alexander Somerville and Coun. Brennan Lister supporting it.

Coun. Patrik Pikálik, who was most disturbed that the town had been allowed to pursue its dream without being told very firmly what the potential limits were, voted against it.