Portage la Prairie city council voted to approve providing emergency funds to the Portage Regional Recreation Authority, tied to costs relating to the closure of the Shindleman Aquatic Centre due to structural concerns with the roof.

Portage la Prairie Mayor and PRRA board vice chair Irvine Ferris.

Council approved a PRRA funding request of $184,269, or 66.6 per cent of the total ask of $256,500 from the RM and City, at its meeting Monday. The RM voted to provide its share of $72,135 — or 33.3 per cent — last week.

The City, RM and PRRA revealed in September the Shindleman Aquatic Centre had to be closed due to safety concerns with the roof's structural integrity under a heavy snow load. The deficiencies were discovered in two building condition assessment reports the PRRA commissioned that were prepared by Winnipeg firms KGS and Testlabs. The pool closed Oct. 31, and won't re-open until all repairs are complete.

The PRRA said in its report to city council the emergency funds requested were to cover the cost of the building conditions assessments -- estimated to be about $125,000 -- design work for the new pool roof, and additional costs from identifying and resolving issues related to the pool and other areas of the PCU Centre.

"We recognize the importance of getting on with these repairs in a very timely fashion," says Portage la Prairie Mayor and PRRA vice chair Irvine Ferris. "We've lost part of our swim season this year, and we have user groups that have been very patient with us."

"This is a very, very important feature of our city."

The PRRA intends to issue tenders for the repair work by the end of December, Ferris says, award them by the end of February and have contractors begin the job in March. The target date to have the Aquatic Centre re-open is the beginning of September 2017.

"It's a warm weather job, and we would like to see it done by the end of August so the citizens of Portage and area have a complete swim season next year," Ferris says.

The city will draw from its 2016 operating surplus to cover the $184,269. Mayor Ferris says that expense, plus any additional costs incurred including the roof repairs, expect to be recovered through the legal process the City, RM and PRRA launched against several contractors and engineering firms in September when the pool closure was announced.

"We believe we have a very strong case and of course we are pursuing it," Ferris explains. "We're putting this money out now so the job can begin. However, we expect to recover all of these costs."