The Town of the Blue Mountains (TBM) is aiming to have the Beaver Valley Arena up and running by Nov. 2.
“The Phase 1 opening starting Nov. 2 is going to be just minor sports," said Aaron McMullen, facility manager and building maintenance coordinator for TBM. "Just to get a feel on what the staff requirements are going to be for the disinfecting before we really get into a full slate of user groups utilizing all of our ice times.”
McMullen presented an initial proposal for the 2020-2021 ice season at Beaver Valley Community Centre and Arena to TBM council at a committee of the whole meeting held last week.
In previous years, the ice surface at the arena was installed at the end of September. But, due to COVID-19, procedures are slightly delayed this year.
The arena was closed on March 16 when TBM declared a state of emergency due to the pandemic.
Despite TBM remaining in a state of emergency, Ontario’s stage-three framework permits the opening of arenas.
In the proposed outline, Phase 1 would focus on minor sports groups only – such as the Beaver Valley Athletic Association Figure Skating, Georgian Shores Minor Hockey Association, Collingwood Girls Hockey Association, and Collingwood Minor Hockey Association.
“The direction from the public health unit is that our Georgian Shores Minor Hockey team, which is shared between Meaford and Thornbury, is only allowed to play teams within the same public health unit. They are not allowed to play against teams from other health units, like Collingwood,” said McMullen.
He adds that minor league teams from other health units are allowed to use the facility to practice and work on skills development.
“The only reason they're allowed to use our facility for practice, is because basically when they come in the arena, the building is locked down. They utilize it and we disinfect it before the next group comes in, so there is that control mechanism there,” McMullen explained.
The proposed operating hours in Phase 1 are Monday to Friday, 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Each user group using the facility will be required to provide COVID-19 Recreation Facility User Safety Plan documents.
Parents and guardians will be permitted in the facility, however, only one parent per child attending a program will be allowed.
No private rentals, adult contracted groups, town programs (such as public skating, adult skate, or parent-and-tot skate), tournaments or special events will be permitted in Phase 1.
“We will not be allowed to offer private rentals. We have to keep it as a membership-base, league rental system because with private rentals, we can't control anything. We could have people coming from six different public health units,” McMullen said.
Along with the phased-in opening, TBM staff have also proposed a number of requirements for each user group, which include:
- Arrive no earlier than 15 minutes prior to rental time
- The rental contract holder is required to submit the names of each individual participating in that session
- Users must arrive fully dressed and ready for sports play or exercise
- Washrooms will be available with a maximum of two persons at one time
- Absolutely no sharing of food or drinks – each person is required to have individual water bottles properly labelled. These bottles must be spaced two-metres apart and be properly sanitized after each use
- Spitting and blowing the nose without a tissue is prohibited
- No loitering; must vacate facility immediately following rental
- Access and use of the kitchen is restricted until further notice
Face coverings are required by all patrons entering the facility. However, face coverings are not required to be worn while in the act of sport or exercise.
Town staff have not proposed a timeline for when the arena would move beyond Phase 1, as it will depend on the current directive from the Grey Bruce Health Unit, but they have outlined some of the parameters for the phases that will follow.
Phase two would build on the protocols of phase one, but leagues and adult contracted groups would be permitted if ice is available, with proper protocols.
Phase three would see the consideration of private rentals and the return of town programs, but only if indoor occupancy allowances have increased to 100 at this time.
Tournaments and special events will not be considered until the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over.
Along with providing projected operational plans, TBM staff also requested an additional $20,000 to hire a maximum of three additional staff for the required increase in disinfection and cleaning through November and December.
Staff are also requesting $32,500 be added to the town’s 2021 base budget for additional staffing through January to March 2021.
TBM council is expected to finalize the details of the arena opening plans at the next council meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 5.
